Helmet-induced headache among Danish military personnel.

PubMed

Rahmani, Zakia; Kochanek, Aneta; Astrup, Jesper Johnsen; Poulsen, Jeppe Nørgaard; Gazerani, Parisa

2017-12-01

External compression headache is defined as a headache caused by an external physical compression applied on the head. It affects about 4% of the general population; however, certain populations (e.g. construction workers and military personnel) with particular needs of headwear or helmet are at higher risk of developing this type of headache. External compression headache is poorly studied in relation to specific populations. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and pattern of helmet-induced external compression headache among Danish military personnel of the Northern Jutland region in Denmark. Data acquisition was based on a custom-made questionnaire delivered to volunteers who used helmets in the Danish military service and who agreed to participate in this study. The military of the Northern Jutland region of Denmark facilitated recruitment of the participants. The questionnaires were delivered on paper and the collected (anonymous) answers (total 279) were used for further analysis. About 30% of the study participants reported headache in relation to wearing a military helmet. Headache was defined as a pressing pain predominantly in the front of the head with an average intensity of 4 on a visual analogue scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). It was also found that helmets with different designs influenced both the occurrence of headache and its characteristics. This study is the first to demonstrate the prevalence and pattern of compression headache among military personnel in North Jutland, Denmark. The findings of this study call for further attention to helmet-induced external compression headache and strategies to minimize the burden.

Co-Occurrence of ADHD and High IQ: A Case Series Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cordeiro, Mara L.; Farias, Antonio C.; Cunha, Alexandre; Benko, Cassia R.; Farias, Lucilene G.; Costa, Maria T.; Martins, Leandra F.; McCracken, James T.

2011-01-01

Objective: The validity of a diagnosis of ADHD in children with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) remains controversial. Using a multidisciplinary approach, rigorous diagnostic criteria, and worldwide-validated psychometric instruments, we identified a group of children attending public schools in southern Brazil for co-occurrence of high IQ and…

How do late terminations of pregnancy affect comparisons of stillbirth rates in Europe? Analyses of aggregated routine data from the Euro-Peristat Project.

PubMed

Blondel, B; Cuttini, M; Hindori-Mohangoo, A D; Gissler, M; Loghi, M; Prunet, C; Heino, A; Smith, L; van der Pal-de Bruin, K; Macfarlane, A; Zeitlin, J

2018-01-01

To describe how terminations of pregnancy at gestational ages at or above the limit for stillbirth registration are recorded in routine statistics and to assess their impact on comparability of stillbirth rates in Europe. Analysis of aggregated data from the Euro-Peristat project. Twenty-nine European countries. Births and late terminations in 2010. Assessment of terminations as a proportion of stillbirths and derivation of stillbirth rates including and excluding terminations. Stillbirth rates overall and excluding terminations. In 23 countries, it is possible to assess the contribution of terminations to stillbirth rates either because terminations are rare occurrences or because they can be distinguished from spontaneous stillbirths. Where terminations were reported, they accounted for less than 1.5% of stillbirths at 22+ weeks in Denmark, between 13 and 22% in Germany, Italy, Hungary, Finland and Switzerland, and 39% in France. Proportions were much lower at 24+ weeks, with the exception of Switzerland (7.4%) and France (39.2%). Terminations represent a substantial proportion of stillbirths at 22+ weeks of gestation in some countries. Countries where terminations occur at 22+ weeks should publish rates with and without terminations in order to improve international comparisons and the policy relevance of stillbirth statistics. For valid comparisons of stillbirth rates, data about late terminations of pregnancy are needed. © 2017 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Occurrence analysis of daily rainfalls through non-homogeneous Poissonian processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirangelo, B.; Ferrari, E.; de Luca, D. L.

2011-06-01

A stochastic model based on a non-homogeneous Poisson process, characterised by a time-dependent intensity of rainfall occurrence, is employed to explain seasonal effects of daily rainfalls exceeding prefixed threshold values. The data modelling has been performed with a partition of observed daily rainfall data into a calibration period for parameter estimation and a validation period for checking on occurrence process changes. The model has been applied to a set of rain gauges located in different geographical areas of Southern Italy. The results show a good fit for time-varying intensity of rainfall occurrence process by 2-harmonic Fourier law and no statistically significant evidence of changes in the validation period for different threshold values.

Pediatric reference intervals for general clinical chemistry components - merging of studies from Denmark and Sweden.

PubMed

Ridefelt, Peter; Hilsted, Linda; Juul, Anders; Hellberg, Dan; Rustad, Pål

2018-05-28

Reference intervals are crucial tools aiding clinicians when making medical decisions. However, for children such values often are lacking or incomplete. The present study combines data from separate pediatric reference interval studies of Denmark and Sweden in order to increase sample size and to include also pre-school children who were lacking in the Danish study. Results from two separate studies including 1988 healthy children and adolescents aged 6 months to 18 years of age were merged and recalculated. Eighteen general clinical chemistry components were measured on Abbott and Roche platforms. To facilitate commutability, the NFKK Reference Serum X was used. Age- and gender-specific pediatric reference intervals were defined by calculating 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles. The data generated are primarily applicable to a Nordic population, but could be used by any laboratory if validated for the local patient population.

Maternal deaths in Denmark 2002-2006.

PubMed

Bødker, Birgit; Hvidman, Lone; Weber, Tom; Møller, Margrethe; Aarre, Annette; Nielsen, Karen Marie; Sørensen, Jette Led

2009-01-01

To describe a method for identification, classification and assessment of maternal deaths in Denmark and to identify substandard care. Register study and case audit based on data from the Registers of the Danish Medical Health Board, death certificates and hospital records. Denmark 2002-2006. Women who died during a pregnancy or within 42 days after a pregnancy. Maternal deaths were identified by notification from maternity wards and data from the Danish National Board of Health. A national audit committee assessed hospital records of direct and indirect deaths. Maternal mortality ratio, causes of death and suboptimal care. In the study period, 26 women died during pregnancy or within 42 days from direct or indirect causes, leading to a maternal mortality ratio of 8.0/100,000 live births. Causes of death were cardiac disease, thromboembolism, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Streptococcus A infections, suicide, amniotic fluid embolism, cerebrovascular hemorrhage, asthma and diabetes. Our method proved valid and can be used for future research. Causes of death could be identified and learning points from the assessments could form the basis of focused education and guidelines. Future complementary 'near miss' studies and cooperation with other countries with comparable health systems are expected to improve the benefits of the enquiries, contributing to improved management of life-threatening conditions in pregnancy and childbirth.

Modification of Tamoxifen Effectiveness by Gene Polymorphisms and Other Drugs

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

study) Mr. Ahern’s three dissertation studies utilize the nationwide medical registries of Denmark to evaluate associations between prescription drugs...K Antagonists and Cancer Risk” component of the SOW. This study utilizes heart valve transplant as a proxy for treatment with a VKA, since actual...after a medication has been paid for and dispensed, we expect prescription compliance to be high. An earlier validation study of hor- mone replacement

Cancer risk in fathers and brothers of testicular cancer patients in Denmark. A population-based study.

PubMed

Westergaard, T; Olsen, J H; Frisch, M; Kroman, N; Nielsen, J W; Melbye, M

1996-05-29

There are several reports of familial testicular cancer in the literature but few systematic attempts have been made to estimate the risk of testicular cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with this neoplasm, and the risk remains to be fully assessed in population-based studies. By means of data from the Danish Cancer Registry, we identified all testicular cancer patients (index cases) born and diagnosed during 1950-1993 in Denmark. Their fathers were identified from national registries, as were the brothers of a subcohort of these patients. Familial cancer occurrence was determined through linkage with the cancer registry and compared with the cancer incidence in the general male population in Denmark. The ratio of observed to expected cancers generated the measure used for the relative risk. Fathers of 2,113 index cases with testicular cancer experienced an almost 2-fold risk of developing testicular cancer themselves (RR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.01-3.43). Overall, the fathers had a decreased relative cancer risk (RR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.74-0.95) with a significantly decreased risk of cancers of the lung and digestive organs. Brothers of a subcohort of 702 index cases showed a markedly increased risk of testicular cancer (RR = 12.3; 95% CI: 3.3-3 1.5). In conclusion, we documented a significantly increased familial risk of testicular cancer which was relatively more pronounced between brothers than between fathers and sons. These findings support the possible involvement of a genetic component in the aetiology of testicular cancer, but also leave room for a hypothesized influence of in-utero exposures, such as specific maternal hormone levels, that might be shared by brothers.

[Firework injuries in Denmark in the period 1995/1996 to 2006/2007].

PubMed

Foged, Thomas; Lauritsen, Jens; Ipsen, Tune; Ibsen, Tune

2007-12-03

The purpose of this study was to observe the occurrence and character of firework injuries on the two days around New Year in Denmark over the last decade. Since 1995/1996 all Accident and Emergency Departments in Denmark have registered all contacts where fireworks were the cause of injury on 31st December and 1st January. Data comprised hospital, sex, age, type of firework, diagnosis and final treatment. Follow-up and reminder by phone secured a 100% response rate. The total number of injured patients was 4,447. The number of firework injuries on the 31st of December and 1st of January was reduced by half over the 12-year period. Furthermore, the number of firework injuries caused by illegal fireworks in 2006/2007 was only 10% of the number in 1996/1997. Only 8% of injuries on last New Year's Eve were caused by illegal firewoks compared to almost 50% at the beginning of the period. A similar halving is seen in serious injuries. Roughly one quarter sustained injuries to the eyes, one quarter to the head/neck and 38% to hands. Firework injuries are now half of the level in 1996/1997. Injuries caused by illegal fireworks and serious injuries have shown a downward tendency throughout the period. The actual number of severe injuries from illegal fireworks is now only 10% of the level in the mid-1990s. This reduction can be attributed to preventive campaigns, greater knowledge of the risk of fireworks in general as well as legislation. Continued focus on preventive campaigns, control of fireworks for the general public and control of firework distribution to professionals is recommended.

Working Time Arrangements as Potential Risk Factors for Ischemic Heart Disease Among Workers in Denmark: A Study Protocol

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background It has long been suspected that a worker’s risk of developing an ischemic heart disease (IHD) may be influenced by his or her working time arrangements. A multitude of studies have been performed, and special attention has been given to long working hours and nighttime work. The statistical powers of the individual studies have, however, generally been too low to either dismiss or confirm an actual relationship, and meta-analyses of underpowered studies are generally associated with publication bias. Hence, uncertainty remains and whether these factors indeed are related to IHD has yet to be settled. Objective This project will test whether the incidences of IHD and usage of antihypertensive drugs among employees in Denmark are independent of weekly working hours and nighttime work. The objective of this paper is to present the intended analyses. Methods We will link individual participant data from the Danish labor force survey, 1999–2013, to data on socioeconomic status, industry, emigrations, redeemed prescriptions, hospitalizations, and deaths from registers covering the entire population of Denmark. The study will include approximately 160,000 participants, who will be followed through the registers, from the time of the interview until the end of 2014, for first occurrence of IHD and for antihypertensive drug treatment. We will use Poisson regression to analyze incidence rates as a function of nighttime work and of weekly working hours. Results We expect results to be ready in mid-2017. Conclusions To our knowledge, this will be the largest study ever of its kind. It will, moreover, be free from hindsight bias, since the hypotheses, inclusion criteria, significance levels, and statistical models will be completely defined and published before we are allowed to link the exposure data to the outcome data. PMID:27335284

GPR Use and Activities in Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ringgaard, Jørgen; Wisén, Roger

2014-05-01

Academic work on GPR in Denmark is performed both by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the University of Copenhagen (KU). The work at DTU includes development of antennas and systems, e.g. an airborne ice-sounder GPR system (POLARIS) that today is in frequent use for monitoring of ice thickness in Greenland. DTU often collaborates with ESA (European Space Agency) regarding electromagnetic development projects. At KU there is an ongoing work with GPR applied to water resources. The main objective is to study flux of water and matter across different hydrological domains. There are several recent publications from KU describing research for data analysis and modelling as well as hydro geophysical applications. Also the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) performs frequent geological mapping with GPR. There have been mainly two actors on the Danish commercial market for several years: FalkGeo and Ramboll. Falkgeo has been active for many years acquiring data for several different applications such as archeology, utilities and roads. Their equipment pool comprises both a multichannel Terravision system form GSSI and a 2D system from Mala Geoscience with a comprehensive range of antennas. Ramboll has performed GPR surveys for two decades mainly with 2D systems from GSSI. In recent years Ramboll has also obtained a system with RTA antennas from Mala Geoscience and a multichannel system from 3D-Radar. These systems have opened markets both for deeper geological mapping and for shallow mapping. The geological mapping with the Mala system has often been combined with resistivity imaging (CVES) and refraction seismic. The 3D system has been applied in airports and on road for mapping of layer thicknesses, delamination and for control of asphalt works. Other areas comprise bridge deck evaluation and utility mapping. Ramboll also acts as client advisor for BaneDanmark, a state owned company who operates and develops the Danish state railway network. For this Ramboll has written a guideline for application of GPR on BaneDanmark railways. There are no national guidelines or test sites in Denmark. The use of GPR on roads is very limited in Denmark compared to our neighboring countries. This is possibly due to conservatism in the industry and due to the fact that Denmark decided not to participate in a collaboration between some of our neighboring countries about preparation of guidelines for application of GPR on roads, the Mara Nord Project. An improvement in accuracy and more automatized routines for mapping of delamination and stripping would also widen the market for application of GPR in airports and on roads. International guidelines for application of GPR in several fields would also help to make authorities recognize it as a valid complement and alternative to other established methods. This abstract is a contribution to COST Action TU1208.

Occurrence and factors associated with bovine cysticercosis recorded in cattle at meat inspection in Denmark in 2004-2011.

PubMed

Calvo-Artavia, F F; Nielsen, L R; Dahl, J; Clausen, D M; Alban, L

2013-06-01

Current EU regulation requires that every bovine carcass is examined for bovine cysticercosis (BC) at meat inspection. This is costly and might be superfluous at low BC prevalence. However, from a consumer view-point it may be important to identify and manage infected carcasses to avoid human infection. If relevant data could be effectively used to classify animals with respect to their risk of being infected, then the current meat inspection could be replaced by a more cost-effective system targeting high-risk animals. This study aimed to (1) describe the distribution of BC cases in the Danish cattle population, (2) estimate the animal level prevalence (3) provide descriptive statistics of potential risk factors for BC, and (4) determine attributable risks and fractions of selected risk factors potentially useful for a future risk-based meat inspection system. In total, 348 cases of BC were recorded among all cattle slaughtered (n=4,090,661) in Denmark between 2004 and 2011. The true animal level prevalence of BC was estimated to be 0.06%. The herd of origin of the cases were defined as the herd in which the animals spent most of their lifetimes. The detected cases were found to originate from 328 herds, with a maximum of two cases per herd indicating sporadic occurrence. Even though organic farming was associated with a higher risk (RR=1.9 in univariable analysis) of BC-positive animals being detected at slaughter, the population attributable fraction showed that only 5% of the animals with BC could be attributed to organic farming practices at the level of organic farming practiced in Denmark in the study period. Thus, organic farming status was not a suitable risk factor to use to target future risk-based meat inspection. However, 54% of the animals with BC in the cattle population were attributed to female gender. Increasing age at slaughter was also associated with high risk of BC. There may be overlaps between these effects in animals with multiple risk factors. Other underlying factors such as grazing patterns might explain the risk factors and attribution results found in this study. However, grazing practices are currently not recorded in the Danish cattle database. Therefore, animal level risk factors such as age and gender together with other risk factors such as grazing practices might be included as food chain information, required to be provided by the farmer prior to slaughter. The challenges and opportunities of this approach should be investigated further. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Risk of neurological diseases among survivors of electric shocks: a nationwide cohort study, Denmark, 1968-2008.

PubMed

Grell, Kathrine; Meersohn, Andrea; Schüz, Joachim; Johansen, Christoffer

2012-09-01

Several studies suggest a link between electric injuries and neurological diseases, where electric shocks may explain elevated risks for neuronal degeneration and, subsequently, neurological diseases. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on the risk of neurological diseases among people in Denmark who had survived an electric accident in 1968-2008. The cohort included 3,133 people and occurrences of neurological diseases were determined by linkage to the nationwide population-based Danish National Register of Patients. The numbers of cases observed at first hospital contact in the cohort were compared with the respective rates of first hospital contacts for neurological diseases in the general population. We observed significantly increased risks for peripheral nerve diseases (standardized hospitalization ratio (SHR), 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.22-2.22), for migraine (SHR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.23-2.54), for vertigo (SHR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.22-2.05), and for epilepsy (SHR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.11-1.85). Only small numbers of cases of other neurological diseases were found, making the risk estimates unstable. These findings suggest an association between a single electric shock and increased risks for peripheral nerve diseases, migraines, vertigo, and epilepsy, but confirmation of these observations is needed. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among bacterial pathogens and indicator bacteria in pigs in different European countries from year 2002 – 2004: the ARBAO-II study

PubMed Central

Hendriksen, Rene S; Mevius, Dik J; Schroeter, Andreas; Teale, Christopher; Jouy, Eric; Butaye, Patrick; Franco, Alessia; Utinane, Andra; Amado, Alice; Moreno, Miguel; Greko, Christina; Stärk, Katharina DC; Berghold, Christian; Myllyniemi, Anna-Liisa; Hoszowski, Andrzej; Sunde, Marianne; Aarestrup, Frank M

2008-01-01

Background The project "Antibiotic resistance in bacteria of animal origin – II" (ARBAO-II) was funded by the European Union (FAIR5-QLK2-2002-01146) for the period 2003–05. The aim of this project was to establish a program for the continuous monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogenic and indicator bacteria from food animals using validated and harmonised methodologies. In this report the first data on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among bacteria causing infections in pigs are reported. Methods Susceptibility data from 17,642 isolates of pathogens and indicator bacteria including Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Streptococcus suis and Escherichia coli isolated from pigs were collected from fifteen European countries in 2002–2004. Results Data for A. pleuropneumoniae from infected pigs were submitted from five countries. Most of the isolates from Denmark were susceptible to all drugs tested with the exceptions of a low frequency of resistance to tetracycline and trimethoprim – sulphonamide. Data for S. suis were obtained from six countries. In general, a high level of resistance to tetracycline (48.0 – 92.0%) and erythromycin (29.1 – 75.0%) was observed in all countries whereas the level of resistance to ciprofloxacin and penicillin differed between the reporting countries. Isolates from England (and Wales), France and The Netherlands were all susceptible to penicillin. In contrast the proportion of strains resistant to ciprofloxacin ranged from 12.6 to 79.0% (2004) and to penicillin from 8.1 – 13.0% (2004) in Poland and Portugal. Data for E. coli from infected and healthy pigs were obtained from eleven countries. The data reveal a high level of resistance to tetracyclines, streptomycin and ampicillin among infected pigs whereas in healthy pigs the frequency of resistance was lower. Conclusion Bacterial resistance to some antimicrobials was frequent with different levels of resistance being observed to several antimicrobial agents in different countries. The occurrence of resistance varied distinctly between isolates from healthy and diseased pigs, with the isolates from healthy pigs generally showing a lower level of resistance than those from diseased pigs. The study suggests that the choice of antimicrobials used for the treatment of diseased animals should preferably be based on knowledge of the local pattern of resistance. PMID:18554407

Occurrence and behavior of emerging contaminants in surface water and a restored wetland.

PubMed

Matamoros, Víctor; Arias, Carlos A; Nguyen, Loc Xuan; Salvadó, Victòria; Brix, Hans

2012-08-01

Pollution mitigation is an important target for restored wetlands, and although there is much information in relation to nutrient removal, little attention has been paid to emerging contaminants. This paper reports on the occurrence and attenuation capacity of 17 emerging contaminants in a restored wetland and two rivers in North-East Denmark. The compounds belong to the groups of pharmaceuticals, fragrances, antiseptics, fire retardants, pesticides, and plasticizers. Concentrations in surface waters ranged from 2 to 1476 ng L(-1). The compounds with the highest concentrations were diclofenac, 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), caffeine, and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP). The herbicide concentrations increased after a rain-fall event, demonstrating the agricultural run-off origin of these compounds, whereas the concentration of the other emerging contaminants was rather conservative. The mitigation capacity of the restored wetland for the compounds ranged from no attenuation to 84% attenuation (19% on average). Hence, restored wetlands may be considered as a feasible alternative for mitigating emerging contaminants from river waters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polymorphisms in RAI and in genes of nucleotide and base excision repair are not associated with risk of testicular cancer.

PubMed

Laska, Magdalena J; Nexø, Bjørn A; Vistisen, Kirsten; Poulsen, Henrik Enghusen; Loft, Steffen; Vogel, Ulla

2005-07-28

Testicular cancer has been suggested to be primed in utero and there is familiar occurrence, particularly brothers and sons of men with testicular cancer have increased risk. Although no specific causative genotoxic agents have been identified, variations in DNA repair capacity could be associated with the risk of testicular cancer. A case-control study of 184 testicular cancer cases and 194 population-based controls living in the Copenhagen Greater Area in Denmark was performed. We found that neither polymorphisms in several DNA repair genes nor alleles of several polymorphisms in the chromosomal of region 19q13.2-3, encompassing the genes ASE, ERCC1, RAI and XPD, were associated with risk of testicular cancer in Danish patients. This is in contrast to other cancers, where we reported strong associations between polymorphisms in ERCC1, ASE and RAI and occurrence of basal cell carcinoma, breast cancer and lung. To our knowledge this is the first study of DNA repair gene polymorphisms and risk of testicular cancer.

Family history, place and season of birth as risk factors for schizophrenia in Denmark: a replication and reanalysis.

PubMed

Pedersen, C B; Mortensen, P B

2001-07-01

Although a family history of schizophrenia is the strongest individual risk factor for schizophrenia, environmental factors related to urbanicity may contribute to a substantial proportion of the population occurrence of the disease. This study replicates previous findings in four mutually exclusive Danish study populations, including out-patient information, ICD-10 diagnoses of schizophrenia, and a broader adjustment for mental illness in family members. We established a population-based cohort of 2.66 million Danish people using data from the Civil Registration System linked with the Psychiatric Case Register. Overall, 10 264 persons developed schizophrenia during the 50.7 million person-years of follow-up. The risk of schizophrenia was increased by urbanicity of place of birth and by family history of schizophrenia or other mental disorders. Urban-rural differences of schizophrenia risk were replicated and could not be associated with the potential sources of bias we assessed. Environmental factors underlying the effect of place of birth are major determinants of schizophrenia occurrence at the population level, although the effect of family history is the strongest at the individual level.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the Nordic countries.

PubMed

Obel, Carsten; Heiervang, Einar; Rodriguez, Alina; Heyerdahl, Sonja; Smedje, Hans; Sourander, André; Guethmundsson, Olafur O; Clench-Aas, Jocelyne; Christensen, Else; Heian, Frode; Mathiesen, Kristin S; Magnússon, Páll; Njarethvík, Urethur; Koskelainen, Merja; Rønning, John A; Stormark, Kjell Morten; Olsen, Jørn

2004-01-01

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been translated into the different Nordic languages between 1996 and 2003. During the past few years, SDQs have been completed for nearly 100,000 children and adolescents in population-based studies as well as in clinical samples. The largest studies have been performed in Norway and Denmark, and in these countries the diagnostic interview DAWBA has also been used in conjunction with the SDQ. In addition to a brief overview of past and ongoing SDQ work in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, we present scale means and standard deviations from selected community studies with comparable age groups, including parental reports for 7, 9 and 11 year-old children and self-reports of 13 and 15 year-olds. The descriptive statistics suggest that the distributions of SDQ scores are very similar across the Nordic countries. Further collaborative efforts in establishing norms and evaluating the validity of the SDQ as a screening instrument are encouraged.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 among adolescents and young adults in Danish, Portuguese, and Swedish.

PubMed

Lemoine, J E; Konradsen, H; Lunde Jensen, A; Roland-Lévy, C; Ny, P; Khalaf, A; Torres, S

2018-05-14

In recent years, the study of body image shifted from focusing on the negative aspects to a more extensive view of body image. The present study seeks to validate a measure of positive body image, the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015a) in Denmark, Portugal, and Sweden. Participants (N = 1012) were adolescents and young adults aged from 12 to 19. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the one-dimensional factor structure of the scale. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the scale was invariant across sex and country. Further results showed that BAS-2 was positively correlated with self-esteem, psychological well-being, and intuitive eating. It was negatively correlated with BMI among boys and girls in Portugal but not in Denmark and Sweden. Additionally, boys had higher body appreciation than girls. Results indicated that the BAS-2 has good psychometric properties in the three languages. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calibration and validation of rainfall thresholds for shallow landslide forecasting in Sicily, southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gariano, S. L.; Brunetti, M. T.; Iovine, G.; Melillo, M.; Peruccacci, S.; Terranova, O.; Vennari, C.; Guzzetti, F.

2015-01-01

Empirical rainfall thresholds are tools to forecast the possible occurrence of rainfall-induced shallow landslides. Accurate prediction of landslide occurrence requires reliable thresholds, which need to be properly validated before their use in operational warning systems. We exploited a catalogue of 200 rainfall conditions that have resulted in at least 223 shallow landslides in Sicily, southern Italy, in the 11-year period 2002-2011, to determine regional event duration-cumulated event rainfall (ED) thresholds for shallow landslide occurrence. We computed ED thresholds for different exceedance probability levels and determined the uncertainty associated to the thresholds using a consolidated bootstrap nonparametric technique. We further determined subregional thresholds, and we studied the role of lithology and seasonal periods in the initiation of shallow landslides in Sicily. Next, we validated the regional rainfall thresholds using 29 rainfall conditions that have resulted in 42 shallow landslides in Sicily in 2012. We based the validation on contingency tables, skill scores, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for thresholds at different exceedance probability levels, from 1% to 50%. Validation of rainfall thresholds is hampered by lack of information on landslide occurrence. Therefore, we considered the effects of variations in the contingencies and the skill scores caused by lack of information. Based on the results obtained, we propose a general methodology for the objective identification of a threshold that provides an optimal balance between maximization of correct predictions and minimization of incorrect predictions, including missed and false alarms. We expect that the methodology will increase the reliability of rainfall thresholds, fostering the operational use of validated rainfall thresholds in operational early warning system for regional shallow landslide forecasting.

Conference on the topic: {open_quotes}Exploration and production of petroleum and gas from chalk reservoirs worldwide{close_quotes}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuznetsov, V.G.

1995-07-01

More than 170 delegates from 14 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia took part in a conference on the topic: Exploration and Production of Petroleum and Gas from Chalk Reservoirs Worldwide. The conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in September,1994, and was a joint meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the European Association of Petroleum Geoscientists and Engineers (EAPG). In addition to the opening remarks, 25 oral and nine poster reports were presented. The topics included chalk deposits as reservoir rocks, the occurrence of chalk deposits worldwide, the North Sea oil and gas fields,more » and other related topics.« less

NuSTAR on-ground calibration: II. Effective area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brejnholt, Nicolai F.; Christensen, Finn E.; Westergaard, Niels J.; Hailey, Charles J.; Koglin, Jason E.; Craig, William W.

2012-09-01

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) was launched in June 2012 carrying the first focusing hard X-ray (5-80keV) optics to orbit. The multilayer coating was carried out at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space). In this article we introduce the NuSTAR multilayer reference database and its implementation in the NuSTAR optic response model. The database and its implementation is validated using on-ground effective area calibration data and used to estimate in-orbit performance.

Month of birth and survival to age 105+: evidence from the age validation study of German semi-supercentenarians.

PubMed

Doblhammer, Gabriele; Scholz, Rembrandt; Maier, Heiner

2005-10-01

Using data from Germany, we examine if month of birth influences survival up to age 105. Since age reporting at the highest ages is notoriously unreliable we draw on age-validated information from a huge age validation project of 1487 alleged German semi-supercentenarians aged 105+. We use month of birth as an exogenous indicator for seasonal changes in the environment around the time of birth. We find that the seasonal distribution of birth dates changes with age. For 925 age-validated semi-supercentenarians the seasonality is more pronounced than at the time of their birth (1880-1900). Among the December-born the relative risk of survival from birth to age 105+is 16% higher than the average, among the June-born, 23% lower. The month-of-birth pattern in the survival risk of the German semi-supercentenarians resembles closely the month-of-birth pattern in remaining life expectancy at age 50 in Denmark.

Bowel Endometriosis Syndrome: a new scoring system for pelvic organ dysfunction and quality of life.

PubMed

Riiskjær, M; Egekvist, A G; Hartwell, D; Forman, A; Seyer-Hansen, M; Kesmodel, U S

2017-09-01

Is it possible to develop a validated score that can identify women with Bowel Endometriosis Syndrome (BENS) and be used to monitor the effect of medical and surgical treatment? The BENS score can be used to identify women with BENS and to monitor the effect of medical and surgical treatment of women suffering from bowel endometriosis. Endometriosis is a heterogeneous disease with extensive variation in anatomical and clinical presentation, and symptoms do not always correspond to the disease burden. Current endometriosis scoring systems are mainly based on anatomical and surgical findings. The score was developed and validated from a cohort of 525 women with medically or surgically treated bowel endometriosis from Aarhus and Copenhagen University Hospitals, Denmark. Patients filled in questionnaires on pelvic pain, quality of life (QoL) and urinary, sexual and bowel function. Items were selected for the final score using clinical and statistical criteria. The chosen variables were included in a multivariate analysis. Individual score values were designated items to form the BENS score, which was divided into 'no BENS', 'minor BENS' and 'major BENS.' Internal and external validations were performed. The six most important items were 'pelvic pain', 'use of analgesics', 'dyschezia', 'straining to urinate', 'fecal urgency' and 'satisfaction with sexual life'. The range of the BENS score (0-28) was divided into 0-8 (no BENS), 9-16 (minor BENS) and 17-28 (major BENS). External validation showed a significant association between BENS score and QoL (P = 0.0001). The BENS scoring system is limited by the fact that it was developed from a single endometriosis unit in Denmark, making it susceptible to social, cultural and demographic bias. It is the first endometriosis classification system to be based directly on the symptomatology of the patient. Validation in other languages will promote comparison of treatments and results across borders. No external funding was either sought or obtained for this study. A.F. is an investigator for Bayer, outside this work. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Gender in physics in Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niss, Kristine; Nordström, Birgitta; Bearden, Ian; Grage, Mette M.-L.

2013-03-01

More women than men get a college degree in Denmark. However, Denmark still has very gender-separated labor market, and in physics only 10% of the university professors are women. Measures are needed to get a more balanced gender distribution among university physicists at all levels in Denmark.

The Children, Intimate Relationships, and Conflictual Life Events (CIRCLE) interview for simultaneous measurement of intimate partner and parent to child aggression.

PubMed

Marshall, Amy D; Feinberg, Mark E; Jones, Damon E; Chote, Daniel R

2017-08-01

Despite substantial rates of parent to child aggression (PCA) and intimate partner aggression (IPA) co-occurrence within families, the co-occurrence of PCA and IPA within incidents of aggression has not previously been examined. To do so, we developed the Children, Intimate Relationships, and Conflictual Life Events (CIRCLE) interview to simultaneously measure incidents of psychological and physical PCA and IPA. The CIRCLE interview was administered quarterly for approximately 1 year to 109 women and 94 men from 111 couples with a first born child approximately 32 months of age at study initiation. Demonstrating the CIRCLE interview's ability to yield new knowledge about the nature of family aggression, we describe the frequency of aggressive incidents, the average number of aggressive behaviors within incidents, the daily occurrence of multiple aggressive incidents, and rates of within-incident PCA and IPA co-occurrence. With the exception of men's physical IPA, aggression scores derived from the CIRCLE interview exhibited a relatively high degree of interpartner reporting concordance, as well as structural validity and convergent validity with common aggression measures. Aggression reports via repeated testing were not influenced by social desirability or attempts to avoid aggression. Participants who perceived enhanced memory for aggression as a function of study participation reported increasing PCA and IPA frequencies over time. In the prediction of child conduct and emotional problems, the CIRCLE interview demonstrated predictive validity and incremental validity over traditional aggression measures. For the first time, within-incident co-occurrence of PCA and IPA was documented and shown to uniquely impact child outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

26 CFR 521.103 - Scope of the convention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of... alien who is a resident of Denmark, or by a Danish corporation, from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark (Article V); (3) Interest and royalties (including motion picture film rentals) derived...

26 CFR 521.103 - Scope of the convention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of... alien who is a resident of Denmark, or by a Danish corporation, from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark (Article V); (3) Interest and royalties (including motion picture film rentals) derived...

26 CFR 521.103 - Scope of the convention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of... alien who is a resident of Denmark, or by a Danish corporation, from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark (Article V); (3) Interest and royalties (including motion picture film rentals) derived...

26 CFR 521.103 - Scope of the convention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of... alien who is a resident of Denmark, or by a Danish corporation, from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark (Article V); (3) Interest and royalties (including motion picture film rentals) derived...

Vocational Education and Training in Denmark. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Soren P.

This monograph examines vocational education and training (VT) in Denmark. Section 1 presents background information/framework data on the following: Denmark's political and administrative structure; population, employment, and unemployment; and the Danish economy. In section 2, the history of VT in Denmark is traced from before 1870 to the…

NREL Partners with Technical University of Denmark on Renewable Energy

Science.gov Websites

System | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL Technical University of Denmark NREL Partners with Technical University of Denmark on Renewable Energy System NREL is working in partnership with the Technical University of Denmark for the Centre for IT-Intelligent Energy Systems in Cities

A Supervised Learning Process to Validate Online Disease Reports for Use in Predictive Models.

PubMed

Patching, Helena M M; Hudson, Laurence M; Cooke, Warrick; Garcia, Andres J; Hay, Simon I; Roberts, Mark; Moyes, Catherine L

2015-12-01

Pathogen distribution models that predict spatial variation in disease occurrence require data from a large number of geographic locations to generate disease risk maps. Traditionally, this process has used data from public health reporting systems; however, using online reports of new infections could speed up the process dramatically. Data from both public health systems and online sources must be validated before they can be used, but no mechanisms exist to validate data from online media reports. We have developed a supervised learning process to validate geolocated disease outbreak data in a timely manner. The process uses three input features, the data source and two metrics derived from the location of each disease occurrence. The location of disease occurrence provides information on the probability of disease occurrence at that location based on environmental and socioeconomic factors and the distance within or outside the current known disease extent. The process also uses validation scores, generated by disease experts who review a subset of the data, to build a training data set. The aim of the supervised learning process is to generate validation scores that can be used as weights going into the pathogen distribution model. After analyzing the three input features and testing the performance of alternative processes, we selected a cascade of ensembles comprising logistic regressors. Parameter values for the training data subset size, number of predictors, and number of layers in the cascade were tested before the process was deployed. The final configuration was tested using data for two contrasting diseases (dengue and cholera), and 66%-79% of data points were assigned a validation score. The remaining data points are scored by the experts, and the results inform the training data set for the next set of predictors, as well as going to the pathogen distribution model. The new supervised learning process has been implemented within our live site and is being used to validate the data that our system uses to produce updated predictive disease maps on a weekly basis.

Comparison of sick leave patterns between Norway and Denmark in the health and care sector: a register study.

PubMed

Krane, Line; Fleten, Nils; Stapelfeldt, Christina M; Nielsen, Claus Vinther; Jensen, Chris; Johnsen, Roar; Braaten, Tonje

2013-11-01

Sickness absence is of considerable concern in both Norway and Denmark. Labour Force Surveys indicate that absence in Norway is about twice that in Denmark and twice that of the mean reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This study compares absence patterns according to age, percentage of employment, and occupation between municipal employees in the health and care sectors in two municipalities in Norway and Denmark. Data recorded in the personnel registers of the municipalities of Kristiansand, Norway and Aarhus, Denmark were extracted for the years 2004 and 2008, revealing 3498 and 7751 employee-years, respectively. We calculated absence rates together with number of sick leave episodes, and their association with the above-mentioned covariates. Gender-specific comparative descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression analysis were performed. The sickness absence rate in women was 11.3% in Norway (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.2-11.4) and 7.0% in Denmark (95% CI 7.0-7.1) whereas mean number of sick leave episodes among women was 2.4 in Denmark, compared to 2.3 in Norway (p = 0.02). Young employees in Denmark had more sick leave episodes than in Norway. Proportion of absentees was higher in Denmark compared to Norway (p < 0.0001). The finding of that more employees in Denmark have more frequent, but shorter sick leave episodes compared to Norway, for whatever reasons, may indicate that more frequent sick leaves episodes prevent higher sick leaves rates.

Box-ticking and Olympic high jumping - Physicians' perceptions and acceptance of national physician validation systems.

PubMed

Sehlbach, Carolin; Govaerts, Marjan J B; Mitchell, Sharon; Rohde, Gernot G U; Smeenk, Frank W J M; Driessen, Erik W

2018-05-24

National physician validation systems aim to ensure lifelong learning through periodic appraisals of physicians' competence. Their effectiveness is determined by physicians' acceptance of and commitment to the system. This study, therefore, sought to explore physicians' perceptions and self-reported acceptance of validation across three different physician validation systems in Europe. Using a constructivist grounded-theory approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 32 respiratory specialists from three countries with markedly different validation systems: Germany, which has a mandatory, credit-based system oriented to continuing professional development; Denmark, with mandatory annual dialogs and ensuing, non-compulsory activities; and the UK, with a mandatory, portfolio-based revalidation system. We analyzed interview data with a view to identifying factors influencing physicians' perceptions and acceptance. Factors that influenced acceptance were the assessment's authenticity and alignment of its requirements with clinical practice, physicians' beliefs about learning, perceived autonomy, and organizational support. Users' acceptance levels determine any system's effectiveness. To support lifelong learning effectively, national physician validation systems must be carefully designed and integrated into daily practice. Involving physicians in their design may render systems more authentic and improve alignment between individual ambitions and the systems' goals, thereby promoting acceptance.

The Role of the Company in Generating Skills. The Learning Effects of Work Organization. Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kristensen, Peer Hull; Petersen, James Hopner

The impact of developments in work organizations on the skilling process in Denmark was studied through a macro analysis of available statistical information about the development of workplace training in Denmark and case studies of three Danish firms. The macro analysis focused on the following: Denmark's vocational training system; the Danish…

The latent structure of post-traumatic stress disorder among Arabic-speaking refugees receiving psychiatric treatment in Denmark.

PubMed

Vindbjerg, Erik; Carlsson, Jessica; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Elklit, Ask; Makransky, Guido

2016-09-05

Refugees are known to have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although recent years have seen an increase in the number of refugees from Arabic speaking countries in the Middle East, no study so far has validated the construct of PTSD in an Arabic speaking sample of refugees. Responses to the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) were obtained from 409 Arabic-speaking refugees diagnosed with PTSD and undergoing treatment in Denmark. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test and compare five alternative models. All four- and five-factor models provided sufficient fit indices. However, a combination of excessively small clusters, and a case of mistranslation in the official Arabic translation of the HTQ, rendered results two of the models inadmissible. A post hoc analysis revealed that a simpler factor structure is supported, once local dependence is addressed. Overall, the construct of PTSD is supported in this sample of Arabic-speaking refugees. Apart from pursuing maximum fit, future studies may wish to test simpler, potentially more stable models, which allow a more informative analysis of individual items.

Association between diverticular disease and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a 13-year nationwide population-based cohort study.

PubMed

Leganger, Julie; Søborg, Marie-Louise Kulas; Mortensen, Laura Quitzau; Gregersen, Rasmus; Rosenberg, Jacob; Burcharth, Jakob

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to examine occurrence and consequences of diverticular disease in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) compared with a matched cohort. This nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted using data from medical registers in Denmark from year 2000 to 2012. The EDS cohort was identified using the specific diagnosis code for EDS and was randomly matched in a ratio of 1:20 by sex and date of birth (±1 year) with persons from the Danish general population. The occurrence of diverticular disease and the clinical characteristics of the initial diverticular event were compared between the EDS cohort and the comparison cohort. The first admission with diverticulitis was identified, and severity of diverticulitis, treatment, colonoscopies, length of stay, and 30-day mortality were investigated. We identified 1336 patients with EDS and matched a control cohort of 26,720 patients. The occurrence of diverticular disease in the EDS cohort (2.0 %) and the comparison cohort (0.68 %) differed significantly (p < 0.001). At the first diverticular event, the majority of patients were women (85 % for EDS and 87 % for the comparison cohort). Mean age, localization, and type of contact did not differ significantly. Admission with diverticulitis (1.0 % for EDS and 0.34 % for the comparison cohort) differed significantly (p < 0.001). We found no significant difference in severity of diverticulitis, treatment, length of stay, or 30-day mortality between the EDS and the comparison cohorts. Patients with EDS had an increased occurrence of overall diverticular events and admissions with diverticulitis compared with the general population.

High speed data compactor

DOEpatents

Baumbaugh, Alan E.; Knickerbocker, Kelly L.

1988-06-04

A method and apparatus for suppressing from transmission, non-informational data words from a source of data words such as a video camera. Data words having values greater than a predetermined threshold are transmitted whereas data words having values less than a predetermined threshold are not transmitted but their occurrences instead are counted. Before being transmitted, the count of occurrences of invalid data words and valid data words are appended with flag digits which a receiving system decodes. The original data stream is fully reconstructable from the stream of valid data words and count of invalid data words.

Genital warts in men: a large population-based cross-sectional survey of Danish men.

PubMed

Munk, Christian; Nielsen, Ann; Liaw, Kai-Li; Kjaer, Susanne Krüger

2012-12-01

To estimate the occurrence of and risk factors associated with genital warts in Danish men We conducted a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study among almost 23 000 men aged 18-45 years, randomly sampled from the general population of Denmark. Data was collected on self-reported clinically diagnosed genital warts, and various lifestyle habits. Ever having had clinically diagnosed genital warts was reported by 7.9% of the men. The median age at first occurrence was 22 years. Genital warts within the previous 12 months were reported by 0.92% of the men, with a peak of 1.83% among men aged 21-24 years. The likelihood of reporting genital warts was strongly correlated with the lifetime number of sex partners (OR 8.0; 95% CI 6.0 to 10.8 for ≥15 partners vs 1-2 partners). Other factors associated with an increased risk for genital warts included ever having smoked and having had other sexually transmitted infections. Almost 8% of Danish men aged 18-45 years reported having had a diagnosis of genital warts. The results provide baseline information for developing and monitoring prevention strategies against genital warts, such as vaccination against human papillomavirus types 6 and 11.

EDITORIAL: The 24th Nordic Semiconductor Meeting The 24th Nordic Semiconductor Meeting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Páll Gunnlaugsson, Haraldur; Nylandsted Larsen, Arne; Uhrenfeldt, Christian

2012-03-01

A Nordic Semiconductor Meeting is held every other year with the venue rotating amongst the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The focus of these meetings remains 'original research and science being carried out on semiconductor materials, devices and systems'. Reports on industrial activity have usually featured. The topics have ranged from fundamental research on point defects in a semiconductor to system architecture of semiconductor electronic devices. Proceedings from these events are regularly published as a Topical Issue of Physica Scripta. All of the papers in this Topical Issue have undergone critical peer review and we wish to thank the reviewers and the authors for their cooperation, which has been instrumental in meeting the high scientific standards and quality of the series. This 24th meeting of the Nordic Semiconductor community, NSM 2011, was held at Fuglsøcentret, close to Aarhus, Denmark, 19-22 June 2011. Support was provided by the Carlsberg Foundation, Danfysik and the semiconductor group at Aarhus University. Over 30 participants presented a broad range of topics covering semiconductor materials and devices as well as related material science interests. The conference provided a forum for Nordic and international scientists to present and discuss new results and ideas concerning the fundamentals and applications of semiconductor materials. The aim of the meeting was to advance the progress of Nordic science and thus aid in future worldwide technological advances concerning technology, education, energy and the environment. The 25th Nordic Semiconductor Meeting will be organized in June 2013 in Finland, chaired by Dr Filip Tuomisto, Aalto University. A Nordic Summer School on Semiconductor Science will be organized in connection with the conference (just before), chaired by Dr Jonatan Slotte, Aalto University. Information on these events can be found at physics.aalto.fi/nsm2013. List of participants Søren Vejling AndersenAalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Pia BomholtAarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Hafliði P GíslasonUniversity of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland Haraldur Páll GunnlaugssonAarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark John HansenAarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Britta JohansenAarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Volodymyr KhranovskyyLinköping University, Linköping, Sweden Arne Nylandsted LarsenAarhus University, Denmark Helge MalmbekkUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Erik Stensrud MarsteinInstitute for Energy Technology, Kjeller, Norway Antonio MartiUniversidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Torben MølholtUniversity of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland Sveinn ÓlafssonUniversity of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland Thomas PedersenTechnical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark Thomas Garm PedersenAalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Dirch Hjorth PetersenTechnical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark Vincent QuemenerUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Henry RadamsonKTH Royal Institute of Technology, Kista, Sweden Bahman RaeissiUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Jonatan SlotteAalto University, Aalto, Finland Xin SongUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Einar Örn SveinbjörnssonUniversity of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland Mikael SyväjärviLinköping University, Linköping, Sweden Chi Kwong TangUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Erik V ThomsenTechnical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark Christian UhrenfeldtAarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Hans Ulrik UlriksenAalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Muhammad UsmanKTH Royal Institute of Technology, Kista, Sweden Lasse VinesUniversity of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Ulrich WahlUnidade de Física e Aceleradores, Sacavém, Portugal Helge WemanNTNU, Trondheim, Norway Gerd WeyerAarhus University, Denmark

Acquisition of Oceanographic Measurements from Baleen Whales and Acquisition of Oceanographic Measurements from Baleen Whales: Field Deployments of Tags Developed Under Grant ONR (N00014-13-1-0854)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

Jonas Teilmann Department of Bioscience Aarhus University Fredriksborgvej 399 DK-4000 Roskilde Denmark phone: +45 21424291 fax: +45 87 16 87 51...Mammal Research Unit (SMRU, www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk), University of St. Andrews, Scotland. WORK COMPLETED The project developed a prototype CTD...temperature and depth components from that work along with the tag controller/transmitter etc, are all still valid. • The risk for building a new tag fall

Advances in Strapdown Inertial Systems. Lecture Series Held in Athens, Greece on 14-15 May 1984, in Rome, Italy on 17-18 May 1984 and in Copenhagen, Denmark on 21-22 May 1984

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

software are required. Ported air cooling is provided in accordan-4 oith WKIM 600 Level 2 and Adequately supports the pow. dissipation (approxiimately 100... software multiplication with simple shifting operations in order to optimize operating speed. Finally, program development software for microprocessors...requiremuents and that the software was exhaustively verified and validated prior to initiation of flight testing will be describ- ed. A special flight

Testing the Predictive Validity of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model.

PubMed

Jung, Hyesil; Park, Hyeoun-Ae

2018-03-01

Cumulative data on patient fall risk have been compiled in electronic medical records systems, and it is possible to test the validity of fall-risk assessment tools using these data between the times of admission and occurrence of a fall. The Hendrich II Fall Risk Model scores assessed during three time points of hospital stays were extracted and used for testing the predictive validity: (a) upon admission, (b) when the maximum fall-risk score from admission to falling or discharge, and (c) immediately before falling or discharge. Predictive validity was examined using seven predictive indicators. In addition, logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that significantly affect the occurrence of a fall. Among the different time points, the maximum fall-risk score assessed between admission and falling or discharge showed the best predictive performance. Confusion or disorientation and having a poor ability to rise from a sitting position were significant risk factors for a fall.

Towards 50% wind electricity in Denmark: Dilemmas and challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, Paul-Frederik

2016-05-01

Electricity and heat supply systems are essential contributors to a fossil-free future in Denmark. The combined production of heat and power (CHP) and the production of wind energy are already well developed in Denmark. Combined heat and power covers about 40% of the demand for space heating in Denmark, and the production of wind energy is supposed to exceed 50% of the demand for electricity by 2020. The changing electricity and heat production has some consequences already now: i) Decreasing wholesale prices in Denmark and in other countries. ii) Thermal power plants are closing down. Denmark is no longer self-sufficient with electricity under all conditions. iii) The electricity production pattern does not match the demand pattern. The result is that the neighbouring countries must absorb the variations from wind and solar power. Essential challenges: i) The future of combined heat and power in Denmark is uncertain. ii) Denmark will need new backup capacity for filling the gaps in wind power and solar cell output. iii) Flexible electricity consumers are supposed to contribute to balancing the future power systems. There is still a long way to go before the Smart Grid visions are implemented in large scale. iv) The transformation of the power system will create new risks of power failures.

Epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe, a systematic review: Western Europe.

PubMed

Laranjo-González, Minerva; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Trevisan, Chiara; Allepuz, Alberto; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Abraham, Annette; Afonso, Mariana Boaventura; Blocher, Joachim; Cardoso, Luís; Correia da Costa, José Manuel; Dorny, Pierre; Gabriël, Sarah; Gomes, Jacinto; Gómez-Morales, María Ángeles; Jokelainen, Pikka; Kaminski, Miriam; Krt, Brane; Magnussen, Pascal; Robertson, Lucy J; Schmidt, Veronika; Schmutzhard, Erich; Smit, G Suzanne A; Šoba, Barbara; Stensvold, Christen Rune; Starič, Jože; Troell, Karin; Rataj, Aleksandra Vergles; Vieira-Pinto, Madalena; Vilhena, Manuela; Wardrop, Nicola Ann; Winkler, Andrea S; Dermauw, Veronique

2017-07-21

Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are zoonotic parasites of public health importance. Data on their occurrence in humans and animals in western Europe are incomplete and fragmented. In this study, we aimed to update the current knowledge on the epidemiology of these parasites in this region. We conducted a systematic review of scientific and grey literature published from 1990 to 2015 on the epidemiology of T. saginata and T. solium in humans and animals. Additionally, data about disease occurrence were actively sought by contacting local experts in the different countries. Taeniosis cases were found in twelve out of eighteen countries in western Europe. No cases were identified in Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. For Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the UK, annual taeniosis cases were reported and the number of detected cases per year ranged between 1 and 114. Detected prevalences ranged from 0.05 to 0.27%, whereas estimated prevalences ranged from 0.02 to 0.67%. Most taeniosis cases were reported as Taenia spp. or T. saginata, although T. solium was reported in Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal and the UK. Human cysticercosis cases were reported in all western European countries except for Iceland, with the highest number originating from Portugal and Spain. Most human cysticercosis cases were suspected to have acquired the infection outside western Europe. Cases of T. solium in pigs were found in Austria and Portugal, but only the two cases from Portugal were confirmed with molecular methods. Germany, Spain and Slovenia reported porcine cysticercosis, but made no Taenia species distinction. Bovine cysticercosis was detected in all countries except for Iceland, with a prevalence based on meat inspection of 0.0002-7.82%. Detection and reporting of taeniosis in western Europe should be improved. The existence of T. solium tapeworm carriers, of suspected autochthonous cases of human cysticercosis and the lack of confirmation of porcine cysticercosis cases deserve further attention. Suspected cases of T. solium in pigs should be confirmed by molecular methods. Both taeniosis and human cysticercosis should be notifiable and surveillance in animals should be improved.

Evaluating an ensemble classification approach for crop diversity verification in Danish greening subsidy control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chellasamy, Menaka; Ferré, Ty Paul Andrew; Greve, Mogens Humlekrog

2016-07-01

Beginning in 2015, Danish farmers are obliged to meet specific crop diversification rules based on total land area and number of crops cultivated to be eligible for new greening subsidies. Hence, there is a need for the Danish government to extend their subsidy control system to verify farmers' declarations to warrant greening payments under the new crop diversification rules. Remote Sensing (RS) technology has been used since 1992 to control farmers' subsidies in Denmark. However, a proper RS-based approach is yet to be finalised to validate new crop diversity requirements designed for assessing compliance under the recent subsidy scheme (2014-2020); This study uses an ensemble classification approach (proposed by the authors in previous studies) for validating the crop diversity requirements of the new rules. The approach uses a neural network ensemble classification system with bi-temporal (spring and early summer) WorldView-2 imagery (WV2) and includes the following steps: (1) automatic computation of pixel-based prediction probabilities using multiple neural networks; (2) quantification of the classification uncertainty using Endorsement Theory (ET); (3) discrimination of crop pixels and validation of the crop diversification rules at farm level; and (4) identification of farmers who are violating the requirements for greening subsidies. The prediction probabilities are computed by a neural network ensemble supplied with training samples selected automatically using farmers declared parcels (field vectors containing crop information and the field boundary of each crop). Crop discrimination is performed by considering a set of conclusions derived from individual neural networks based on ET. Verification of the diversification rules is performed by incorporating pixel-based classification uncertainty or confidence intervals with the class labels at the farmer level. The proposed approach was tested with WV2 imagery acquired in 2011 for a study area in Vennebjerg, Denmark, containing 132 farmers, 1258 fields, and 18 crops. The classification results obtained show an overall accuracy of 90.2%. The RS-based results suggest that 36 farmers did not follow the crop diversification rules that would qualify for the greening subsidies. When compared to the farmers' reported crop mixes, irrespective of the rule, the RS results indicate that false crop declarations were made by 8 farmers, covering 15 fields. If the farmers' reports had been submitted for the new greening subsidies, 3 farmers would have made a false claim; while remaining 5 farmers obey the rules of required crop proportion even though they have submitted the false crop code due to their small holding size. The RS results would have supported 96 farmers for greening subsidy claims, with no instances of suggesting a greening subsidy for a holding that the farmer did not report as meeting the required conditions. These results suggest that the proposed RS based method shows great promise for validating the new greening subsidies in Denmark.

OC5 Project Phase Ib: Validation of hydrodynamic loading on a fixed, flexible cylinder for offshore wind applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robertson, Amy N.; Wendt, Fabian; Jonkman, Jason M.

This paper summarizes the findings from Phase Ib of the Offshore Code Comparison, Collaboration, Continued with Correlation (OC5) project. OC5 is a project run under the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Research Task 30, and is focused on validating the tools used for modelling offshore wind systems through the comparison of simulated responses of select offshore wind systems (and components) to physical test data. For Phase Ib of the project, simulated hydrodynamic loads on a flexible cylinder fixed to a sloped bed were validated against test measurements made in the shallow water basin at the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) withmore » support from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The first phase of OC5 examined two simple cylinder structures (Phase Ia and Ib) to focus on validation of hydrodynamic models used in the various tools before moving on to more complex offshore wind systems and the associated coupled physics. As a result, verification and validation activities such as these lead to improvement of offshore wind modelling tools, which will enable the development of more innovative and cost-effective offshore wind designs.« less

OC5 Project Phase Ib: Validation of hydrodynamic loading on a fixed, flexible cylinder for offshore wind applications

DOE PAGES

Robertson, Amy N.; Wendt, Fabian; Jonkman, Jason M.; ...

2016-10-13

This paper summarizes the findings from Phase Ib of the Offshore Code Comparison, Collaboration, Continued with Correlation (OC5) project. OC5 is a project run under the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Research Task 30, and is focused on validating the tools used for modelling offshore wind systems through the comparison of simulated responses of select offshore wind systems (and components) to physical test data. For Phase Ib of the project, simulated hydrodynamic loads on a flexible cylinder fixed to a sloped bed were validated against test measurements made in the shallow water basin at the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) withmore » support from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The first phase of OC5 examined two simple cylinder structures (Phase Ia and Ib) to focus on validation of hydrodynamic models used in the various tools before moving on to more complex offshore wind systems and the associated coupled physics. As a result, verification and validation activities such as these lead to improvement of offshore wind modelling tools, which will enable the development of more innovative and cost-effective offshore wind designs.« less

Denmark. A Study of the Educational System of Denmark and Guide to the Academic Placement of Students in Educational Institutions in the United States. PIER World Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolston, Valerie A.; Dickey, Karlene N.

This volume offers a full country study of the structure and content of the educational system of Denmark, together with a formal set of placement recommendations for Danish students wishing to study in the United States. Chapter 1 introduces the volume with descriptions of Denmark and its people, government, the government's role in education,…

Toxicity of organic chemical pollution in groundwater downgradient of a landfill (Grindsted, Denmark)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baun, A.; Jensen, S.D.; Bjerg, P.L.

2000-05-01

The aim of the present study was to describe the occurrence and distribution of toxicity related to organic chemical contaminants in the leachate plume downgradient of the Grindsted Landfill (Denmark). A total of 27 groundwater samples were preconcentrated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using XAD-2 as the resin material. This treatment effectively eliminated sample matrix toxicity caused by inorganic salts and natural organic compounds and produced an aqueous concentrate of the nonvolatile chemical contaminants. The SPE extracts were tested in a battery of standardized short-term aquatic toxicity tests with luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), algae (Selenastrum capricornutum), and crustaceans (Daphnia magna). Additionalmore » genotoxicity tests were made using the umuC test (Salmonella typhimurium). Biotests with algae and luminescent bacteria were the most sensitive tests. On the basis of results with these two bioassays, it was concluded that SPE extracts of groundwater collected close to the landfill were toxic. The toxicity decreased with the distance from the landfill. At distances greater than 80 m from the border of the landfill, the groundwater toxicity was not significantly different from the background toxicity. SPE extracts were not toxic to Daphnia, and no genotoxicity was observed in the umuC test. The overall findings indicate that a battery of biotests applied on preconcentrated groundwater samples can be a useful tool for toxicity characterization and hazard ranking of groundwater polluted with complex chemical mixtures, such as landfill leachates.« less

Salmonella in pork cuttings in supermarkets and butchers' shops in Denmark in 2002 and 2006.

PubMed

Hansen, T B; Christensen, B B; Aabo, S

2010-11-01

The prevalence of Salmonella in fresh pork cuttings in Denmark in the years 2002 and 2006 was investigated at retail and compared with the retail supply pattern. A total of 1025 and 3473 samples were taken in 2002 from butcher's shops and supermarkets, respectively. The corresponding numbers in 2006 were 259 from butchers' shops and 628 from supermarkets. In 2002, 1.2% of all samples were positive for Salmonella; butchers' shops and supermarkets had 1.8% and 1.0% positive samples, respectively. The overall prevalence in 2006 was 4.2%, with prevalence of 8.1% and 2.6% for butchers' shops and supermarkets, respectively. Hence, increases around 3- to 5-fold were found. There was neither observed any parallel increase in Salmonella positive carcasses in Danish slaughterhouses during the study period, nor were any changes in supply routes towards slaughterhouses with higher prevalence observed, which could explain the apparent increase. We hypothesize that hygiene levels and ability to avoid cross-contamination and prevent growth of the organism, in the meat processing chain after slaughter were the most likely responsible factors. Results from this study indicate that the hygiene performance, particularly at retail, has a significant impact on the occurrence of Salmonella. This implies that there is no direct link between slaughterhouse Salmonella surveillance data and the level of Salmonella contamination at retail. To improve risk assessment of Salmonella in fresh pork meat, this study underlines the need for comprehensive retail data. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The geothermal energy potential in Denmark - updating the database and new structural and thermal models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Lars Henrik; Sparre Andersen, Morten; Balling, Niels; Boldreel, Lars Ole; Fuchs, Sven; Leth Hjuler, Morten; Kristensen, Lars; Mathiesen, Anders; Olivarius, Mette; Weibel, Rikke

2017-04-01

Knowledge of structural, hydraulic and thermal conditions of the subsurface is fundamental for the planning and use of hydrothermal energy. In the framework of a project under the Danish Research program 'Sustainable Energy and Environment' funded by the 'Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation', fundamental geological and geophysical information of importance for the utilization of geothermal energy in Denmark was compiled, analyzed and re-interpreted. A 3D geological model was constructed and used as structural basis for the development of a national subsurface temperature model. In that frame, all available reflection seismic data were interpreted, quality controlled and integrated to improve the regional structural understanding. The analyses and interpretation of available relevant data (i.e. old and new seismic profiles, core and well-log data, literature data) and a new time-depth conversion allowed a consistent correlation of seismic surfaces for whole Denmark and across tectonic features. On this basis, new topologically consistent depth and thickness maps for 16 geological units from the top pre-Zechstein to the surface were drawn. A new 3D structural geological model was developed with special emphasis on potential geothermal reservoirs. The interpretation of petrophysical data (core data and well-logs) allows to evaluate the hydraulic and thermal properties of potential geothermal reservoirs and to develop a parameterized numerical 3D conductive subsurface temperature model. Reservoir properties and quality were estimated by integrating petrography and diagenesis studies with porosity-permeability data. Detailed interpretation of the reservoir quality of the geological formations was made by estimating net reservoir sandstone thickness based on well-log analysis, determination of mineralogy including sediment provenance analysis, and burial history data. New local surface heat-flow values (range: 64-84 mW/m2) were determined for the Danish Basin and predicted temperatures were calibrated and validated by borehole temperature observations. Finally, new temperature maps for major geological reservoir formations (Frederikshavn, Haldager Sand, Gassum and Bunter Sandstone/Skagerrak formations) and selected constant depth intervals (1 km, 2 km, etc.) were compiled. In the future, geothermal energy is likely to be a key component in Denmark's supply of energy and integrated into the district heating infrastructures. A new 3-year project (GEOTHERM) under the Innovation Fund Denmark will focus on addressing and removing remaining geological, technical and commercial obstacles. The presented 3D geothermal model will be an important component in more precise assessments of the geothermal resource, production capacity and thermal lifecycle.

Validation of the Integrated Medical Model Using Historical Space Flight Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerstman, Eric L.; Minard, Charles G.; FreiredeCarvalho, Mary H.; Walton, Marlei E.; Myers, Jerry G., Jr.; Saile, Lynn G.; Lopez, Vilma; Butler, Douglas J.; Johnson-Throop, Kathy A.

2010-01-01

The Integrated Medical Model (IMM) utilizes Monte Carlo methodologies to predict the occurrence of medical events, utilization of resources, and clinical outcomes during space flight. Real-world data may be used to demonstrate the accuracy of the model. For this analysis, IMM predictions were compared to data from historical shuttle missions, not yet included as model source input. Initial goodness of fit test-ing on International Space Station data suggests that the IMM may overestimate the number of occurrences for three of the 83 medical conditions in the model. The IMM did not underestimate the occurrence of any medical condition. Initial comparisons with shuttle data demonstrate the importance of understanding crew preference (i.e., preferred analgesic) for accurately predicting the utilization of re-sources. The initial analysis demonstrates the validity of the IMM for its intended use and highlights areas for improvement.

Income-related and educational inequality in small-for-gestational age and preterm birth in Denmark and Finland 1987-2003.

PubMed

Mortensen, Laust H; Lauridsen, Jørgen T; Diderichsen, Finn; Kaplan, George A; Gissler, Mika; Andersen, Anne-Marie N

2010-02-01

In this paper, we examine income- and education-related inequality in small-for-gestational age (SGA) and preterm birth in Denmark and Finland from 1987 to 2003 using concentration indexes (CIXs). From the national medical birth registries we gathered information on all births from 1987 to 2003. Information on highest completed maternal education and household income in the year preceding birth of the offspring was obtained for 1,012,400 births in Denmark and 499,390 in Finland. We then calculated CIXs for income- and education-related inequality in SGA and preterm birth. The mean household income-related inequality in SGA was -0.04 (95% confidence interval: -0.05, -0.04) in Denmark and -0.03 (-0.04, -0.02) in Finland. The maternal education-related inequality in SGA was -0.08 (-0.10, -0.06) in Denmark and -0.07 (-0.08, -0.06) in Finland. The income-related inequality in preterm birth was -0.03 (-0.03, -0.02) in Denmark and -0.03 (-0.04, -0.02) in Finland. The education-related inequality in preterm birth was -0.05 (-0.07, -0.04) in Denmark and -0.04 (-0.05, -0.03) in Finland. In Denmark, the income-related and education-related inequity in SGA increased over time. In Finland, the income-related inequality in SGA birth increased slightly, while education-related inequalities remained stable. Inequalities in preterm birth decreased over time in both countries. Denmark and Finland are examples of nations with free prenatal care and publicly financed obstetric care of high quality. During the period of study there were macroeconomic shocks affecting both countries. However, only small income- and education-related inequalities in SGA and preterm births during the period were observed.

Development and validation of a patient-reported questionnaire assessing systemic therapy induced diarrhea in oncology patients.

PubMed

Lui, Michelle; Gallo-Hershberg, Daniela; DeAngelis, Carlo

2017-12-22

Systemic therapy-induced diarrhea (STID) is a common side effect experienced by more than half of cancer patients. Despite STID-associated complications and poorer quality of life (QoL), no validated assessment tools exist to accurately assess STID occurrence and severity to guide clinical management. Therefore, we developed and validated a patient-reported questionnaire (STIDAT). The STIDAT was developed using the FDA iterative process for patient-reported outcomes. A literature search uncovered potential items and questions for questionnaire construction used by oncology clinicians to develop questions for the preliminary instrument. The instrument was evaluated on its face validity and content validity by patient interviews. Repetitive, similar and different themes uncovered from patient interviews were implemented to revise the instrument to the version used for validation. Patients starting high-risk STID treatments were monitored using the STIDAT, bowel diaries and EORTC QLQ-C30. The STIDAT was evaluated for construct validity using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using minimal residual method with Promax rotation, reliability and consistency. A weighted scoring system was developed and a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve evaluated the tool's ability to detect STID occurrence. Median scores and variability were analysed to determine how well it differentiates between diarrhea severities. A post-hoc analysis determined how diarrhea severity impacted QoL of cancer patients. Patients defined diarrhea based on presence of watery stool. The STIDAT assessed patient's perception of having diarrhea, daily number of bowel movements, daily number of diarrhea episodes, antidiarrheal medication use, the presence of urgency, abdominal pain, abdominal spasms or fecal incontinence, patient's perception of diarrhea severity, and QoL. These dimensions were sorted into four clusters using EFA - patient's perception of diarrhea, frequency of diarrhea, fecal incontinence and abdominal symptoms. Cronbach's alpha was 0.78; kappa ranged from 0.934-0.952, except for abdominal spasms (κ = 0.0455). The positive predictive value was 96.4%, with the minimum score of 1.35 predicting a positive STID occurrence. Patients with moderate or severe diarrhea experience significant decreases in QoL compared to those with no diarrhea. This is the first patient-reported questionnaire that accurately predicts the occurrence and severity of diarrhea in oncology patients via assessing several bowel habit dimensions.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects in Denmark | Concentrating Solar Power |

Science.gov Websites

;alphabetical by project name. You can browse a project profile by clicking on the project name. Aalborg CSP-Brà NREL Denmark Concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Denmark are listed belowâ€"

Long-term health outcomes in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome: a nationwide cohort study in Denmark.

PubMed

Hedgeman, E; Ulrichsen, S P; Carter, S; Kreher, N C; Malobisky, K P; Braun, M M; Fryzek, J; Olsen, M S

2017-10-01

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare congenital disease that affects growth, sexual development, cognitive function and behavior. Individuals exhibit food preoccupation and hyperphagia, which may lead to obesity with premature morbidity and mortality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the risk of venous thromboembolisms (VTEs), myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea, depression, anxiety and all-cause mortality among persons with PWS as compared with an age- and sex-matched general-population cohort. All persons diagnosed with PWS (n=155) were identified in the Danish Health Registries; an age- and sex-matched comparison group was selected from the general population of Denmark (n=15 500); diseases of interest were identified through the health registry and cause of death register. Follow-up began on date of birth or first medical record availability through to first occurrence of an outcome of interest; follow-up ceased at emigration from Denmark or end of study. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated and Cox's proportional hazards models were used to understand the relative risk (RR) of disease. The IRs for VTE among patients with PWS was 144 (60-347) per 100 000 person-years. Risks for VTE events and all-cause mortality were 9.4 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.7-23.5) and 11.0 times (95% CI: 5.7-21.1) higher, respectively, for patients with PWS versus the general population. Increased risks were also found individually for deep venous thromboses (DVTs) (RR: 9.1; 95% CI: 3.2-25.2), pulmonary embolisms (RR: 11.0; 95% CI: 1.4-86.9), myocardial infarction (RR: 7.2; 95% CI: 1.7-30.2) and anxiety (RR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.0-7.5). No cases of pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea or depressive disorders were identified within this PWS cohort. Multiple cardiovascular and behavioral illnesses are more likely to occur among patients with PWS than within the general population. These increased risks may provide an impetus for enhanced disease prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Educational and Vocational Guidance in Denmark. Education in Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ministry of Education, Copenhagen (Denmark).

This report sketches educational and vocational guidance in Denmark. It begins with a historical account of developments in the areas of career and school counseling. Outlined next are guidance programs at the following levels: folkeskole, gymnasium and studenterkursus (upper secondary education), higher preparatory examination, vocational school,…

The Financing of Vocational Education and Training in Denmark. Financing Portrait. CEDEFOP Panorama.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Martin Eggert

The financing of vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark was evaluated through consultations with various bodies, including the following: Denmark's Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Education, Danish Employer's Confederation, Confederation of Danish Industry, Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, Association of County Councils, and…

76 FR 13890 - Importation of Bromeliad Plants in Growing Media From Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-15

... in Growing Media From Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health..., Cryptanthus, Guzmania, Hohenbergia, Neoregelia, Tillandsia, and Vriesea from Belgium, Denmark, and the... regulations in ``Subpart--Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and Other Plant Products,'' Sec. Sec...

26 CFR 521.101 - Introductory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish... representative; and in the case of Denmark, the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance... III (1) An enterprise of one of the contracting States shall not be subject to taxation in the other...

Impacts of 21st century climate changes on flora and vegetation in Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skov, Flemming; Nygaard, Bettina; Wind, Peter; Borchsenius, Finn; Normand, Signe; Balslev, Henrik; Fløjgaard, Camilla; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2009-11-01

In this paper we examined the potential impacts of predicted climatic changes on the flora and vegetation in Denmark using data from a digital database on the natural vegetation of Europe. Climate scenarios A2 and B2 were used to find regions with present climatic conditions similar to Denmark's climate in the year 2100. The potential natural vegetation of Denmark today is predominantly deciduous forest that would cover more than 90% of the landscape. Swamps, bogs, and wet forest would be found under moist or wet conditions. Dwarf shrub heaths would be naturally occurring on poor soils along the coast together with dune systems and salt-marsh vegetation. When comparing the natural vegetation of Denmark to the vegetation of five future-climate analogue areas, the most obvious trend is a shift from deciduous to thermophilous broadleaved forest currently found in Southern and Eastern Europe. A total of 983 taxa were recorded for this study of which 539 were found in Denmark. The Sørensen index was used to measure the floristic similarity between Denmark and the five subregions. Deciduous forest, dwarf shrub heath, and coastal vegetation were treated in more detail, focusing on potential new immigrant species to Denmark. Finally, implications for management were discussed. The floristic similarity between Denmark and regions in Europe with a climate similar to what is expected for Denmark in year 2100 was found to vary between 48-78%, decreasing from North to South. Hence, it seems inevitable that climate changes of the magnitudes foreseen will alter the distribution of individual species and the composition of natural vegetation units. Changes, however, will not be immediate. Historic evidence shows a considerable lag in response to climatic change under natural conditions, but little is known about the effects of human land-use and pollution on this process. Facing such uncertainties we suggested that a dynamic strategy based on modeling, monitoring and adaptive management is adopted. Modeling techniques can be constantly improved, but will never be perfect and should therefore be linked to a fine-masked network of observatories to check model predictions and feed empirical data back into the models for calibration and further development.

Number of organ dysfunctions predicts mortality in emergency department patients with suspected infection: a multicenter validation study.

PubMed

Jessen, Marie K; Skibsted, Simon; Shapiro, Nathan I

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to validate the association between number of organ dysfunctions and mortality in emergency department (ED) patients with suspected infection. This study was conducted at two medical care center EDs. The internal validation set was a prospective cohort study conducted in Boston, USA. The external validation set was a retrospective case-control study conducted in Aarhus, Denmark. The study included adult patients (>18 years) with clinically suspected infection. Laboratory results and clinical data were used to assess organ dysfunctions. Inhospital mortality was the outcome measure. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the independent mortality odds for number and types of organ dysfunctions. We enrolled 4952 (internal) and 483 (external) patients. The mortality rate significantly increased with increasing number of organ dysfunctions: internal validation: 0 organ dysfunctions: 0.5% mortality, 1: 3.6%, 2: 9.5%, 3: 17%, and 4 or more: 37%; external validation: 2.2, 6.7, 17, 41, and 57% mortality (both P<0.001 for trend). Age-adjusted and comorbidity-adjusted number of organ dysfunctions remained an independent predictor. The effect of specific types of organ dysfunction on mortality was most pronounced for hematologic [odds ratio (OR) 3.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-5.4)], metabolic [OR 3.3 (95% CI 2.4-4.6); internal validation], and cardiovascular dysfunctions [OR 14 (95% CI 3.7-50); external validation]. The number of organ dysfunctions predicts sepsis mortality.

Denmark's Master of Public Governance Program: Assessment and Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greve, Carsten; Pedersen, Anne Reff

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on Denmark's Master of Public Governance and its assessments and lessons learned. Denmark is seen to have an efficient economy and public sector, a digitalized public service delivery system, and an advanced work-life balance. The Danish government invested substantial resources into developing a Master of Public Governance…

Landscape capability predicts upland game bird abundance and occurrence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Loman, Zachary G.; Blomberg, Erik J.; DeLuca, William; Harrison, Daniel J.; Loftin, Cyndy; Wood, Petra B.

2017-01-01

Landscape capability (LC) models are a spatial tool with potential applications in conservation planning. We used survey data to validate LC models as predictors of occurrence and abundance at broad and fine scales for American woodcock (Scolopax minor) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Landscape capability models were reliable predictors of occurrence but were less indicative of relative abundance at route (11.5–14.6 km) and point scales (0.5–1 km). As predictors of occurrence, LC models had high sensitivity (0.71–0.93) and were accurate (0.71–0.88) and precise (0.88 and 0.92 for woodcock and grouse, respectively). Models did not predict point-scale abundance independent of the ability to predict occurrence of either species. The LC models are useful predictors of patterns of occurrences in the northeastern United States, but they have limited utility as predictors of fine-scale or route-specific abundances. 

Species co-occurrence analysis predicts management outcomes for multiple threats.

PubMed

Tulloch, Ayesha I T; Chadès, Iadine; Lindenmayer, David B

2018-03-01

Mitigating the impacts of global anthropogenic change on species is conservation's greatest challenge. Forecasting the effects of actions to mitigate threats is hampered by incomplete information on species' responses. We develop an approach to predict community restructuring under threat management, which combines models of responses to threats with network analyses of species co-occurrence. We discover that contributions by species to network co-occurrence predict their recovery under reduction of multiple threats. Highly connected species are likely to benefit more from threat management than poorly connected species. Importantly, we show that information from a few species on co-occurrence and expected responses to alternative threat management actions can be used to train a response model for an entire community. We use a unique management dataset for a threatened bird community to validate our predictions and, in doing so, demonstrate positive feedbacks in occurrence and co-occurrence resulting from shared threat management responses during ecosystem recovery.

Developing Predictive Models for Algal Bloom Occurrence and Identifying Factors Controlling their Occurrence in the Charlotte County and Surroundings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karki, S.; Sultan, M.; Elkadiri, R.; Chouinard, K.

2017-12-01

Numerous occurrences of harmful algal blooms (Karenia Brevis) were reported from Southwest Florida along the coast of Charlotte County, Florida. We are developing data-driven (remote sensing, field, and meteorological data) models to accomplish the following: (1) identify the factors controlling bloom development, (2) forecast bloom occurrences, and (3) make recommendations for monitoring variables that are found to be most indicative of algal bloom occurrences and for identifying optimum locations for monitoring stations. To accomplish these three tasks we completed/are working on the following steps. Firstly, we developed an automatic system for downloading and processing of ocean color data acquired through MODIS Terra and MODIS Aqua products using SeaDAS ocean color processing software. Examples of extracted variables include: chlorophyll a (OC3M), chlorophyll a Generalized Inherent Optical Property (GIOP), chlorophyll a Garver-Siegel- Maritorena (GSM), sea surface temperature (SST), Secchi disk depth, euphotic depth, turbidity index, wind direction and speed, colored dissolved organic material (CDOM). Secondly we are developing a GIS database and a web-based GIS to host the generated remote sensing-based products in addition to relevant meteorological and field data. Examples of the meteorological and field inputs include: precipitation amount and rates, concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorous, fecal coliform and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). Thirdly, we are constructing and validating a multivariate regression model and an artificial neural network model to simulate past algal bloom occurrences using the compiled archival remote sensing, meteorological, and field data. The validated model will then be used to predict the timing and location of algal bloom occurrences. The developed system, upon completion, could enhance the decision making process, improve the citizen's quality of life, and strengthen the local economy.

Danish version of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator--translation, cross-cultural adaption and validity pretest by cognitive interviewing.

PubMed

Andreasen, Jane; Sørensen, Erik E; Gobbens, Robbert J J; Lund, Hans; Aadahl, Mette

2014-01-01

The Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) is a self-administered questionnaire with a bio-psycho-social integrated approach that measures the degree of frailty in elderly persons. The TFI was developed in the Netherlands and tested in a population of elderly Dutch men and women. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the TFI to a Danish context, and to test face validity of the Danish version by cognitive interviewing. An internationally recognized procedure was applied as a basis for the translation process. The primary tasks were forward translation, reconciliation, back translation, harmonization and pretest. Pretest and review of the preliminary version by cognitive interviewing, were performed at a local community center and in an acute medical ward at the University Hospital in Aalborg, Denmark respectively. A large agreement regarding meaning of the items in the forward translation and reconciliation process was seen. Minor discrepancies were solved by consensus. Back translation revealed unclear wording in one matter. The harmonization committee agreed on a version for cognitive interviewing after revision of minor issues and thirty-four participants were interviewed. Two issues became evident and these were revised. The cognitive interviews and final lay-out resulted in minor adjustments as text type size, specific font, and lining for optimizing readability. In conclusion, we consider the TFI to be translated in such rigorous manner that the instrument can be further tested in clinical practice. The overall objective of the questionnaire being to identify frailty and improve the interventions relating to frail elderly persons in Denmark. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sickness absence patterns and trends in the health care sector: 5-year monitoring of female municipal employees in the health and care sectors in Norway and Denmark

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Sickness absence is a growing public health problem in Norway and Denmark, with the highest absence rates being registered in Norway. We compared time trends in sickness absence patterns of municipal employees in the health and care sectors in Norway and Denmark. Methods Data from 2004 to 2008 were extracted from the personnel registers of the municipalities of Kristiansand, Norway, and Aarhus, Denmark, for 3,181 and 8,545 female employees, respectively. Age-specific comparative statistics on sickness absence rates (number of calendar days of sickness absence/possible working days) and number of sick leave episodes were calculated for each year of the study period. Results There was an overall increasing trend in sickness absence rates in Denmark (P = 0.002), where rates were highest in the 20–29- (P = 0.01) and 50–59-year-old age groups (P = 0.03). Sickness absence rates in Norway were stable, except for an increase in the 20–29-year-old age group (P = 0.004). In both Norway and Denmark, the mean number of sick leave episodes increased (P <0.0001 and P <0.0001, respectively) in all age groups except for the 30–39- and 60–67-year-old age groups. The proportion of employees without sickness absence was higher in Norway than in Denmark. Both short-term and long-term absence increased in Denmark (P = 0.003 and P <0.0001, respectively), while in Norway, only short-term absence increased (P = 0.09). Conclusions We found an overall increase in sickness absence rates in Denmark, while the largest overall increase in sick leave episodes was found in Norway. In both countries, the largest increases were observed among young employees. The results indicate that the two countries are converging in regard to sickness absence measured as rates and episodes. PMID:25005027

Guidelines to validate control of cross-contamination during washing of fresh-cut leafy vegetables

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires food processors to implement and validate processes that will result in significantly minimizing or preventing the occurrence of hazards that are likely to occur in food production. During production of fresh-cut leafy vegetables, microbial contaminati...

Economic assessment of climate adaptation options for urban drainage design in Odense, Denmark.

PubMed

Zhou, Q; Halsnæs, K; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, K

2012-01-01

Climate change is likely to influence the water cycle by changing the precipitation patterns, in some cases leading to increased occurrences of precipitation extremes. Urban landscapes are vulnerable to such changes due to the concentrated population and socio-economic values in cities. Feasible adaptation requires better flood risk quantification and assessment of appropriate adaptation actions in term of costs and benefits. This paper presents an economic assessment of three prevailing climate adaptation options for urban drainage design in a Danish case study, Odense. A risk-based evaluation framework is used to give detailed insights of the physical and economic feasibilities of each option. Estimation of marginal benefits of adaptation options are carried out through a step-by-step cost-benefit analysis. The results are aimed at providing important information for decision making on how best to adapt to urban pluvial flooding due to climate impacts in cities.

Fluctuations in the prevalence of chromate allergy in Denmark and exposure to chrome-tanned leather.

PubMed

Carøe, Caroline; Andersen, Klaus E; Thyssen, Jacob P; Mortz, Charlotte G

2010-12-01

A recent Danish study showed a significant increase in the prevalence of chromate contact allergy after the mid-1990s, probably as a result of exposure to leather products. To reproduce the results by analysing data from the period 1992-2009 at Odense University Hospital, Denmark. The temporal development in the occurrence of chromate contact allergy and assumed causative exposures were investigated. A retrospective analysis of patch test data was performed (n = 8483), and medical charts from patients with chromate allergy (n = 231) were reviewed. Comparisons were made using the χ(2) -test. A test of the reproducibility of the TRUE Test® was also performed. Logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations. No significant changes in the prevalence or exposure sources of chromate allergy during 1992-2009 were identified. Leather shoes (24.4%) were the most frequent exposure sources in chromate allergy, and were mainly registered in women, although the difference between men and women was not significant (P = 0.07). Cement and leather glove exposure occurred significantly more often in men than in women (P = 0.002). Foot dermatitis (40.3%) was the most frequent anatomical location, apart from hand eczema (60.6%). The reproducibility of the TRUE Test® was 93.3%. Apart from hand eczema, the most frequent clinical picture of chromate allergy was foot dermatitis caused by leather shoe exposure. A tendency for an increasing prevalence of chromate contact allergy from 1997 was shown, but no significant change was detectable. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

What characterizes persons with high levels of perceived stress in Denmark? A national representative study.

PubMed

Nielsen, Line; Curtis, Tine; Kristensen, Tage S; Rod Nielsen, Naja

2008-06-01

Stress is a growing public health problem, but there are only a few studies with national representative samples on the occurrence of stress. The aim of this study was to assess the level of stress, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, in Denmark, and to identify and characterize the group with high levels of stress by factors measured at both the individual and neighbourhood levels in a national representative sample of the Danish population. The 10,022 participants in the National Health Interview Survey 2005 were asked about perceived stress and individual factors in a cross-sectional design. Information on neighbourhood factors was derived from a national registry. Data were analysed by means of logistic regression models. Low education, heavy smoking, physical inactivity, lack of social network and poor working conditions were associated with perceived stress. For women, living in a neighbourhood with low average education, and for men, living in a neighbourhood with a high rate of crime and a low degree of ethnic diversity, were associated with higher perceived stress. Perceived stress was also related to indicators of morbidity. The group with high perceived stress is characterized by individual and neighbourhood factors with negative impacts on quality of life and risk of illness. This knowledge can guide future stress prevention efforts. Additionally, the results suggest a negative social component where perceived stress, unhealthy lifestyle and low social status are accumulated, and perceived stress might be used as a measure to identify groups characterized by accumulation of risk factors.

Validation of Protein Markers for Lung Cancer Using CARET Sera and Proteomics Techniques — EDRN Public Portal

Cancer.gov

1.1 To validate the finding from pilot studies with CARET sera of autoantibodies to annexins I and II and PGP9.5 as potential biomarkers for lung cancers before the clinical diagnosis, evaluating sensitivity and specificity by time before diagnosis, treatment arm, gender, histologic type, and smoking status. 1.2 To determine whether a pattern of occurrence of autoantibodies in lung cancer sera may be diagnostic of lung cancer that is not dependent on the occurrence of any particular autoantibody. 1.3 To compare the findings for individual biomarker candidates and combinations of biomarker candidates in participants who were current smokers versus former smokers.

Assessing performance and validating finite element simulations using probabilistic knowledge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dolin, Ronald M.; Rodriguez, E. A.

Two probabilistic approaches for assessing performance are presented. The first approach assesses probability of failure by simultaneously modeling all likely events. The probability each event causes failure along with the event's likelihood of occurrence contribute to the overall probability of failure. The second assessment method is based on stochastic sampling using an influence diagram. Latin-hypercube sampling is used to stochastically assess events. The overall probability of failure is taken as the maximum probability of failure of all the events. The Likelihood of Occurrence simulation suggests failure does not occur while the Stochastic Sampling approach predicts failure. The Likelihood of Occurrencemore » results are used to validate finite element predictions.« less

Children's Perspective on Learning: An International Study in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandberg, Anette; Broström, Stig; Johansson, Inge; Frøkjaer, Thorleif; Kieferle, Christa; Seifert, Anja; Roth, Angela; Tuul, Maire; Ugaste, Aino; Laan, Meeli

2017-01-01

This article explores how some children in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden describe their perspective on learning. The aim of the international study is to gain knowledge of how preschool children in Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Germany reflect and perceive their learning in preschool and other surrounding social contexts. The results are…

Forest restoration in the Nordic countries

Treesearch

Palle Madsen; Ása Arad•ttir; Emile Gardiner; Pelle Gemmel; Kåre Lund Høie; Magnus Löf; John A. Stanturf; Peter Tigerstedt; Hardi Tullus; Sauli Valkonen; Veiko Uri

2000-01-01

The Nordic countries include Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, which range from lat. 54° in southern Denmark to lat. 72° at North Cape, Norway. This region is dominated by the boreal coniferous vegetational zone.Denmark and southern Sweden are, however, located in the deciduous (nemoral) forest zone, whereas the interior part of Iceland and the high...

Changing Patterns of Finance in Higher Education. Country Study: Denmark. OECD Educational Monographs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enslev, Lisbeth; And Others

A country study on Denmark is presented as part of a series prepared by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) Education Committee activity on changing patterns of finance in higher education. In Denmark, postsecondary institutions are the direct responsibility of the state. Some central problems are to strike a balance…

Library Services to the Homebound Elderly in Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Gyda Skat

The number of elderly people in Denmark continues to grow, which means there is an increasing need for special library services to those elderly who are not able to come to the library because of physical or mental limitations. This paper uses the practices of Sollerod Public Libraries (Sollerod, Denmark) to frame the discussion of the following:…

Differences in cancer awareness and beliefs between Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK (the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership): do they contribute to differences in cancer survival?

PubMed Central

Forbes, L J L; Simon, A E; Warburton, F; Boniface, D; Brain, K E; Dessaix, A; Donnelly, C; Haynes, K; Hvidberg, L; Lagerlund, M; Lockwood, G; Tishelman, C; Vedsted, P; Vigmostad, M N; Ramirez, A J; Wardle, J

2013-01-01

Background: There are wide international differences in 1-year cancer survival. The UK and Denmark perform poorly compared with other high-income countries with similar health care systems: Australia, Canada and Sweden have good cancer survival rates, Norway intermediate survival rates. The objective of this study was to examine the pattern of differences in cancer awareness and beliefs across these countries to identify where these might contribute to the pattern of survival. Methods: We carried out a population-based telephone interview survey of 19 079 men and women aged ⩾50 years in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK using the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer measure. Results: Awareness that the risk of cancer increased with age was lower in the UK (14%), Canada (13%) and Australia (16%) but was higher in Denmark (25%), Norway (29%) and Sweden (38%). Symptom awareness was no lower in the UK and Denmark than other countries. Perceived barriers to symptomatic presentation were highest in the UK, in particular being worried about wasting the doctor's time (UK 34% Canada 21% Australia 14% Denmark 12% Norway 11% Sweden 9%). Conclusion: The UK had low awareness of age-related risk and the highest perceived barriers to symptomatic presentation, but symptom awareness in the UK did not differ from other countries. Denmark had higher awareness of age-related risk and few perceived barriers to symptomatic presentation. This suggests that other factors must be involved in explaining Denmark's poor survival rates. In the UK, interventions that address barriers to prompt presentation in primary care should be developed and evaluated. PMID:23370208

Testicular cancer risk in first- and second-generation immigrants to Denmark.

PubMed

Myrup, Charlotte; Westergaard, Tine; Schnack, Tine; Oudin, Anna; Ritz, Christian; Wohlfahrt, Jan; Melbye, Mads

2008-01-02

Immigrant studies offer insights into the relative importance of environment and genes in disease etiology. There is considerable variation in testicular cancer incidence worldwide. We investigated testicular cancer risk in first- and second-generation immigrants to Denmark, a high-incidence country, to evaluate the relative influence of genes and environment and the potential timing of action of environmental factor(s). A cohort of 2.1 million men who were born since 1930 and lived in Denmark between 1968 and 2003 was established based on information in the Danish Civil Registration System, which included their immigration histories. Cancer histories were obtained from the Danish Cancer Registry. Testicular cancer risk was estimated as rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) based on log-linear Poisson regression. Overall, 4216 testicular cancer cases occurred during 43 million person-years of follow-up in 2.1 million men. These included 166 cases among 344,444 direct immigrants to Denmark and 13 cases among 56,189 men born in Denmark to immigrant parents. These first- and second-generation immigrants had RRs of testicular cancer of 0.37 (95% CI = 0.31 to 0.43) and 0.88 (95% CI = 0.51 to 1.53), respectively, compared with men born in Denmark of parents born in Denmark. The rate in first-generation immigrants was not modified by age at immigration or duration of stay and reflected that in the country of origin. The testicular cancer risk in first-generation immigrants was lower than that in native-born Danes and reflected that in the countries of origin, whereas the risk in second-generation immigrants was similar to that in natives of Denmark. Together these findings argue for a substantial influence of environmental factors limited to the period early in life, most probably to the period in utero.

Mapping telemedicine efforts: surveying regional initiatives in Denmark.

PubMed

Kierkegaard, Patrick

2015-05-01

The aim of this study is to survey telemedicine services currently in operation across Denmark. The study specifically seeks to answer the following questions: What initiatives are deployed within the different regions? What are the motivations behind the projects? What technologies are being utilized? What medical disciplines are being supported using telemedicine systems? All data were surveyed from the Telemedicinsk Landkort, a newly created database designed to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of all telemedicine technologies in Denmark. The results of this study suggest that a growing numbers of telemedicine initiatives are currently in operation across Denmark but that considerable variations exist in terms of regional efforts as the number of operational telemedicine projects varied from region to region. The results of this study provide a timely picture of the factors that are shaping the telemedicine landscape of Denmark and suggest potential strategies to help policymakers increase and improve national telemedicine deployment.

Risk analysis of analytical validations by probabilistic modification of FMEA.

PubMed

Barends, D M; Oldenhof, M T; Vredenbregt, M J; Nauta, M J

2012-05-01

Risk analysis is a valuable addition to validation of an analytical chemistry process, enabling not only detecting technical risks, but also risks related to human failures. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) can be applied, using a categorical risk scoring of the occurrence, detection and severity of failure modes, and calculating the Risk Priority Number (RPN) to select failure modes for correction. We propose a probabilistic modification of FMEA, replacing the categorical scoring of occurrence and detection by their estimated relative frequency and maintaining the categorical scoring of severity. In an example, the results of traditional FMEA of a Near Infrared (NIR) analytical procedure used for the screening of suspected counterfeited tablets are re-interpretated by this probabilistic modification of FMEA. Using this probabilistic modification of FMEA, the frequency of occurrence of undetected failure mode(s) can be estimated quantitatively, for each individual failure mode, for a set of failure modes, and the full analytical procedure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychometric evaluation of a daily gastro-oesophageal reflux disease symptom measure.

PubMed

Bytzer, Peter; Reimer, Christina; Smith, Gary; Anatchkova, Milena D; Hsieh, Ray; Wilkinson, Joanne; Thomas, S Jane; Lenderking, William R

2017-03-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Heartburn Reflux Dyspepsia Questionnaire (HRDQ), a newly developed measure of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) symptoms. Specifically, the HRDQ was developed for patients, who still experience symptoms with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment. The psychometric properties of HRDQ were evaluated based on data from two clinical trials of patients with GORD with a partial response to PPIs, one from the UK and one from Denmark and Germany. The HRDQ had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha range .83-.88) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient range .71-.90). Convergent and discriminant validity were supported by high correlations with ReQuest™ and ability to differentiate between groups based on ReQuest™ cut-off values. Responsiveness of HRDQ was demonstrated by moderate to high correlations with ReQuest™ change scores and time with symptoms. An HRDQ cut-off value of 0.70 for definition of 'bad day' was also evaluated. Based on existing evidence, the HRDQ is a valid and reliable measure of GORD symptoms that can be used as a study outcome in clinical trials.

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in raw and drinking water - current situation in Sweden, Denmark and Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banzhaf, Stefan; Bester, Kai; Filipovic, Marko; Lewis, Jeffrey; Licha, Tobias; Sparrenbom, Charlotte; Barthel, Roland

2016-04-01

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of anthropogenic environmental pollutants which have been used and produced for more than 60 years. PFASs are used for multiple industrial purposes, e.g. as water repellent on clothing, leather, and paper and as firefighting foam. The most well studied PFASs subgroup are perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA). Two PFAAs of particular interest are perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These are the most studied homologues which are ubiquitously detected in the aquatic environment, wildlife and humans. Some PFASs are recognized as being potentially toxic for both animals and humans (e.g. PFOS), whereas the majority has not been thoroughly studied yet regarding their toxicity. PFAAs are highly mobile once present in the aquatic environment. Currently, they are not eliminated during conventional wastewater or drinking water treatment and therefore pose a severe threat for drinking water supply. We reviewed the current occurrence of PFAAs in the surface and groundwater and legal situation of PFAAs in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Although first detections of PFAAs were reported in the early 2000s, PFASs only recently attracted huge media attention raising public concern. In Sweden, for instance, several public waterworks needed to cease operation due to high PFASs concentrations in drinking water. Moreover, threshold values for drinking water are under discussion and a first preliminary guiding value for PFOS was recently presented as a first step (Pettersson et al., 2015). Germany only defined a guiding value for the sum of PFOS and PFOA in drinking water so far (Dieter, 2011). Limits of 0.3 μg/L PFOA and 0.1 μg/L PFOS and PFOSA each have been suggested in Denmark (MST, 2015). In summary, none of the three countries has defined a clear threshold value for any PFAS compound in drinking water so far. This is of huge concern as PFASs are detected at increasing rates while it remains unclear when measures have to be taken to secure the drinking water quality for millions of people. Here, we present the first comprehensive comparison of PFASs contaminations in Sweden, Germany, and Denmark and how they are dealt with. Dieter, H., 2011. Grenzwerte, Leitwerte, Orientierungswerte, Maßnahmenwerte-Aktuelle Definitionen und Höchstwerte. Umweltbundesamt. MST (Miljøstyrelsen), 2015. Perfluoroalkylated substances: PFOA, PFOS, and PFOSA, Evaluation of health hazards and proposal of health based quality criterion for drinking water, soil and ground water. Report No 1665, 2015 Pettersson, M., Ländell, M., Ohlsson, Y., Berggren Kleja, D., Tiberg, C., 2015. Preliminära riktvärden för högfluorerade ämnen (PFAS) i mark och grundvatten Linköping.

New hypotheses regarding the Danish health puzzle.

PubMed

Bakah, May; Raphael, Dennis

2017-12-01

Nordic welfare states have achieved admirable population health profiles as a result of public policies that provide economic and social security across the life course. Denmark has been an exception to this rule, as its life expectancies and infant mortality rates since the mid-1970s have lagged behind the other Nordic nations and, in the case of life expectancy, behind most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations. In this review paper, we identify a number of new hypotheses for why this may be the case. These hypotheses concern the health effects of neo-liberal restructuring of the economy and its institutions, the institution of flexi-security in Denmark's labour market and the influence of Denmark's tobacco and alcohol industries. Also of note is that Denmark experienced higher unemployment rates during its initial period of health stagnation, as well as its treatment of non-Western immigrants and high wealth inequality and, until recently, the fact that Denmark did not systematically address the issue of health inequalities. These hypotheses may serve as covering explanations for the usually provided accounts of elevated behavioural risks and psychosocial stress as being responsible for Denmark's health profile.

Small-scale cannabis growers in Denmark and Finland.

PubMed

Hakkarainen, Pekka; Frank, Vibeke Asmussen; Perälä, Jussi; Dahl, Helle Vibeke

2011-01-01

To compare domestic cannabis cultivation in Denmark and Finland to describe national characteristics in small-scale cannabis growing. A Web survey conducted among small-scale cannabis growers in Denmark (June to November 2008) and Finland (May to June 2009). Current cannabis growers (Denmark, 401; Finland, 1,054). Comparisons in regard to social background, growing history, practices, purposes and motives of growing, and perceptions of risks. Cannabis was cultivated primarily for own use, but sharing with friends and avoiding criminal circles also were significant motives for growing. Finnish growers prioritized indoor cultivation, whereas the Danes were more in favor of open-air plantations. Risks of getting caught by the police were observed to be greater in Finland. Growing for medical purposes was twice as prevalent in Finland as in Denmark. Cannabis growing is a stronger and more novel phenomenon in Finland than in Denmark, but both countries have been influenced by international trends. Finnish and Danish small-scale cannabis cultivators can be considered to be ideologically oriented lifestyle growers. Differences in the magnitude of the phenomenon may reflect differences in the availability and quality of cannabis in national drug markets. The Internet had promoted the spreading of the trend. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The Eocene Arctic Azolla phenomenon: species composition, temporal range and geographic extent.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collinson, Margaret; Barke, Judith; van der Burgh, Johan; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, Johanna; Pearce, Martin; Bujak, Jonathan; Brinkhuis, Henk

2010-05-01

Azolla is a free-floating freshwater fern that is renowned for its rapid vegetative spread and invasive biology, being one of the world's fastest growing aquatic macrophytes. Two species of this plant have been shown to have bloomed and reproduced in enormous numbers in the latest Early to earliest Middle Eocene of the Arctic Ocean and North Sea based on samples from IODP cores from the Lomonosov Ridge (Arctic) and from outcrops in Denmark (Collinson et al 2009 a,b Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 155,1-14; and doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.12.001). To determine the geographic and temporal extent of this Azolla phenomenon, and the spatial distribution of the different species, we have examined samples from 15 additional sites using material from ODP cores and commercial exploration wells. The sites range from the Sub-Arctic (Northern Alaska and Canadian Beaufort Mackenzie Basin) to the Nordic Seas (Norwegian-Greenland Sea and North Sea Basin). Our data show that the Azolla phenomenon involved at least three species. These are distinguished by characters of the megaspore apparatus (e.g. megaspore wall, floats, filosum) and the microspore massulae (e.g. glochidia fluke tips). The Lomonosov Ridge (Arctic) and Danish occurrences are monotypic but in other sites more than one species co-existed. The attachment to one another and the co-occurrence of megaspore apparatus and microspore massulae, combined with evidence that these spores were shed at the fully mature stage of their life cycle, shows that the Azolla remains were not transported over long distances, a fact which could not be assumed from isolated massula fragments alone. Our evidence, therefore, shows that Azolla plants grew on the ocean surfaces for approximately 1.2 million years (from 49.3 to 48.1 Ma) and that the Azolla phenomenon covered the area from Denmark northwards across the North Sea Basin and the whole of the Arctic and Nordic seas. Apparently, early Middle Eocene Northern Hemisphere middle and high latitude environmental conditions were suitable for simultaneous widespread proliferation of several Azolla species. This episode coincides with the termination of a period known as the 'Early Eocene Climatic Optimum' (EECO). Both field data and general circulation/climate model experiments invoke high precipitation conditions for the EECO and these might have aided in the onset of massive Azolla proliferation in the Northern Hemisphere.

Associations between perceived stress, socioeconomic status, and health-risk behaviour in deprived neighbourhoods in Denmark: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Algren, Maria Holst; Ekholm, Ola; Nielsen, Line; Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Bak, Carsten Kronborg; Andersen, Pernille Tanggaard

2018-02-13

Previous studies have found that residents of deprived neighbourhoods have an increased risk of perceived stress compared to residents with similar sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics in non-deprived neighbourhoods. While stress may provide an explanatory pathway linking neighbourhood deprivation to health-risk behaviour, only limited research has been undertaken on whether perceived stress influences health-risk behaviour in deprived neighbourhoods. Moreover, it is uncertain whether perceived stress has a negative effect on the associations between socioeconomic status and health-risk behaviours in deprived neighbourhoods. The overall aim of this study was to compare perceived stress in deprived neighbourhood with that in the general population, and to examine whether perceived stress was associated with health-risk behaviours (including their co-occurrence) in deprived neighbourhoods. A further aim was to examine whether perceived stress modified the associations between socioeconomic status and health-risk behaviours. Four questions from the Perceived Stress Scale were used as indicators of perceived stress. Multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to cross-sectional data from 5113 adults living in 12 deprived neighbourhoods in Denmark. Data from 14,868 individuals from the nationally representative Danish Health and Morbidity Survey 2010 were used as a comparison group with regard to perceived stress. Residents of deprived neighbourhoods had higher odds of perceived stress than the general population. Associations between disposable income, economic deprivation, strain, and perceived stress were found in deprived neighbourhoods. Perceived stress was significantly associated with higher odds of health-risk behaviour, including a low intake of fruit or vegetables, daily smoking, physical inactivity, and the co-occurrence of health-risk behaviours, even after adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Perceived stress was more strongly associated with physical inactivity and having two or more health-risk behaviours among residents with medium/high socioeconomic status compared to residents with low socioeconomic status. Overall, the study showed a clear association between perceived stress and health-risk behaviour in deprived neighbourhoods. Future health promotion interventions targeting deprived neighbourhoods may benefit from incorporating stress reduction strategies to reduce health-risk behaviour. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanism underlying the association between perceived stress and health-risk behaviour in deprived neighbourhoods.

Experimental methods to validate measures of emotional state and readiness for duty in critical operations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weston, Louise Marie

2007-09-01

A recent report on criticality accidents in nuclear facilities indicates that human error played a major role in a significant number of incidents with serious consequences and that some of these human errors may be related to the emotional state of the individual. A pre-shift test to detect a deleterious emotional state could reduce the occurrence of such errors in critical operations. The effectiveness of pre-shift testing is a challenge because of the need to gather predictive data in a relatively short test period and the potential occurrence of learning effects due to a requirement for frequent testing. This reportmore » reviews the different types of reliability and validity methods and testing and statistical analysis procedures to validate measures of emotional state. The ultimate value of a validation study depends upon the percentage of human errors in critical operations that are due to the emotional state of the individual. A review of the literature to identify the most promising predictors of emotional state for this application is highly recommended.« less

Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing Reflectance Using Autonomous Floats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerbi, Gregory P.; Boss, Emanuel; Werdell, P. Jeremy; Proctor, Christopher W.; Haentjens, Nils; Lewis, Marlon R.; Brown, Keith; Sorrentino, Diego; Zaneveld, J. Ronald V.; Barnard, Andrew H.;

Occurrence, species distribution, antimicrobial resistance and clonality of methicillin- and erythromycin-resistant staphylococci in the nasal cavity of domestic animals.

PubMed

Bagcigil, Funda A; Moodley, Arshnee; Baptiste, Keith E; Jensen, Vibeke F; Guardabassi, Luca

2007-04-15

beta-Lactams and macrolides are important antibiotics for treatment of staphylococcal infections in both humans and animals. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence, species distribution and clonality of methicillin- and erythromycin-resistant staphylococci in the nasal cavity of dogs, horses, pigs, and cattle in Denmark. Nasal swabs were collected from a total of 400 animals, including 100 individuals of each species. Methicillin- and erythromycin-resistant staphylococci were isolated on selective media, identified by 16S rDNA sequencing, and typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) harbouring mecA were isolated from horses (50%) and dogs (13%), but not from food animals. The species identified were S. haemolyticus (n=21), S. vitulinus (n=19), S. sciuri (n=13), S. epidermidis (n=8), and S. warneri (n=2). mecA-mediated methicillin resistance in S. vitulinus was described for the first time. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus was not detected. PFGE analysis revealed the presence of specific MRCoNS clones in samples originating from the same veterinary hospital or equine farm. Erythromycin-resistant S. aureus (ERSA) was detected in 38% of pigs and all isolates harboured a constitutively expressed erm(C) gene. The vast majority (37/38) of pigs carrying ERSA originated from a farm characterized by frequent use of macrolides. Most ERSA isolates (28/38) displayed indistinguishable or closely related PFGE patterns, indicating clonal distribution within the farm. Based on the analysis of data on antimicrobial consumption, the occurrence of MRCoNS in companion animals and that of ERSA in pigs reflected national and local patterns of antimicrobial usage.

The Right to Development: Construction of a Non-Agriculturalist Discourse of Rurality in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase

2004-01-01

The paper argues for the existence of two powerful discourses of rurality in Denmark after World War II. The first one is termed the modernist-agriculturalist discourse. Although still influential in the current public debate, in Denmark as well as in other Western European countries, this discourse of rurality had its heyday in the 1960s. It is…

Apprentice or Student? The Structures of Construction Industry Vocational Education and Training in Denmark and Sweden and Their Possible Consequences for Safety Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grytnes, Regine; Grill, Martin; Pousette, Anders; Törner, Marianne; Nielsen, Kent J.

2018-01-01

There is a notable difference in occupational injury rates in the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark, with the latter having a 40% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. This study explored differences in the vocational education and training (VET) systems between Sweden and Denmark that may be…

Existing data sources for clinical epidemiology: The North Denmark Bacteremia Research Database

PubMed Central

Schønheyder, Henrik C; Søgaard, Mette

2010-01-01

Bacteremia is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Improving prevention and treatment requires better knowledge of the disease and its prognosis. However, in order to study the entire spectrum of bacteremia patients, we need valid sources of information, prospective data collection, and complete follow-up. In North Denmark Region, all patients diagnosed with bacteremia have been registered in a population-based database since 1981. The information has been recorded prospectively since 1992 and the main variables are: the patient’s unique civil registration number, date of sampling the first positive blood culture, date of admission, clinical department, date of notification of growth, place of acquisition, focus of infection, microbiological species, antibiogram, and empirical antimicrobial treatment. During the time from 1981 to 2008, information on 22,556 cases of bacteremia has been recorded. The civil registration number makes it possible to link the database to other medical databases and thereby build large cohorts with detailed longitudinal data that include hospital histories since 1977, comorbidity data, and complete follow-up of survival. The database is suited for epidemiological research and, presently, approximately 60 studies have been published. Other Danish departments of clinical microbiology have recently started to record the same information and a population base of 2.3 million will be available for future studies. PMID:20865114

The Danish Schizophrenia Registry

PubMed Central

Baandrup, Lone; Cerqueira, Charlotte; Haller, Lea; Korshøj, Lene; Voldsgaard, Inge; Nordentoft, Merete

2016-01-01

Aim of database To systematically monitor and improve the quality of treatment and care of patients with schizophrenia in Denmark. In addition, the database is accessible as a resource for research. Study population Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and receiving mental health care in psychiatric hospitals or outpatient clinics. During the first year after the diagnosis, patients are classified as incident patients, and after this period as prevalent patients. Main variables The registry currently contains 21 clinical quality measures in relation to the following domains: diagnostic evaluation, antipsychotic treatment including adverse reactions, cardiovascular risk factors including laboratory values, family intervention, psychoeducation, postdischarge mental health care, assessment of suicide risk in relation to discharge, and assessment of global functioning. Descriptive data The recorded data are available electronically for the reporting clinicians and responsible administrative personnel, and they are updated monthly. The registry publishes the national and regional results of all included quality measures in the annual audit reports. External researchers may obtain access to the data for use in specific research projects by applying to the steering committee. Conclusion The Danish Schizophrenia Registry represents a valuable source of informative data to monitor and improve the quality of care of patients with schizophrenia in Denmark. However, continuous resources and time devoted is necessary to maintain the integrity of the registry and the validity of the data. PMID:27843348

The Danish Schizophrenia Registry.

PubMed

Baandrup, Lone; Cerqueira, Charlotte; Haller, Lea; Korshøj, Lene; Voldsgaard, Inge; Nordentoft, Merete

2016-01-01

To systematically monitor and improve the quality of treatment and care of patients with schizophrenia in Denmark. In addition, the database is accessible as a resource for research. Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and receiving mental health care in psychiatric hospitals or outpatient clinics. During the first year after the diagnosis, patients are classified as incident patients, and after this period as prevalent patients. The registry currently contains 21 clinical quality measures in relation to the following domains: diagnostic evaluation, antipsychotic treatment including adverse reactions, cardiovascular risk factors including laboratory values, family intervention, psychoeducation, postdischarge mental health care, assessment of suicide risk in relation to discharge, and assessment of global functioning. The recorded data are available electronically for the reporting clinicians and responsible administrative personnel, and they are updated monthly. The registry publishes the national and regional results of all included quality measures in the annual audit reports. External researchers may obtain access to the data for use in specific research projects by applying to the steering committee. The Danish Schizophrenia Registry represents a valuable source of informative data to monitor and improve the quality of care of patients with schizophrenia in Denmark. However, continuous resources and time devoted is necessary to maintain the integrity of the registry and the validity of the data.

How to measure experiences of healthcare quality in Denmark among patients with heart disease? The development and psychometric evaluation of a patient-reported instrument.

PubMed

Zinckernagel, Line; Schneekloth, Nanna; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe Olsen; Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Rod, Morten Hulvej; Jensen, Poul Dengsøe; Timm, Helle; Holmberg, Teresa

2017-10-30

Measuring the quality of care as experienced by patients is increasingly recognised as a way of improving healthcare services. However, disease-specific measures that take the patient journey into account are needed. This paper presents the development of such a measure for patients with heart disease and details the psychometric evaluation. The questionnaire was developed based on a literature review, qualitative interviews and a pilot-test. The psychometric evaluation of the measure was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Cronbach's alpha coefficient and differential item functioning analysis with data from a population-based survey. Denmark in 2013-2014. Nineteen heart patients, four relatives and eight health professionals participated in qualitative interviews in the development phase, and 15 patients participated in the pilot-test. The questionnaire was subsequently sent to a random sample of 5000 heart patients who were diagnosed in 2013. The comprehensive development phase and pilot-testing contributed to high content validity of the questionnaire. Eligible questionnaire responses were received from 2496 patients. EFA indicated a nine-factor model: communication at the hospital, communication with the general practitioner, information on disease and treatment, information on psychosocial aspects, rehabilitation/support, organisation, medication, involvement of relatives and consideration of comorbidity. CFA confirmed the proposed factor structure (eg, goodness-of-fit index=0.88, adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.86, root mean square error of approximation=0.05), and Cronbach's alpha coefficient revealed good internal consistency of the factors (range: 0.69-0.93). The results suggest that this disease-specific patient-reported experience measure is of good quality when measuring the quality of care among heart patients. The inclusion of patients in the development phase contributed to high content validity, and subsequent psychometric evaluation found high construct validity and internal consistency. This measure may be especially relevant when seeking information about which aspects of care require improvement and the impact on health outcomes. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

[Multiresistant tuberculosis in Denmark 1993-1996].

PubMed

Viskum, K; Kok-Jensen, A

1998-05-18

Infections with multiresistant tubercle bacilli have also become a problem in the rich part of the world. The reasons are lack of compliance in patients with life style problems and ineffectiveness of the health system due to lack of fundings. During a four year period, 1993-1996 ten patients were seen in Denmark with tuberculosis due to multiresistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nine were infected abroad, one developed MDR-TB during treatment in Denmark. It is possible to cure these patients, but it is expensive and takes a long time. In the future more cases created within Denmark are likely to be seen due to lack of funding for the tuberculosis programme and, depending on immigration, further cases created abroad are expected.

Deciphering microbial interactions and detecting keystone species with co-occurrence networks.

PubMed

Berry, David; Widder, Stefanie

2014-01-01

Co-occurrence networks produced from microbial survey sequencing data are frequently used to identify interactions between community members. While this approach has potential to reveal ecological processes, it has been insufficiently validated due to the technical limitations inherent in studying complex microbial ecosystems. Here, we simulate multi-species microbial communities with known interaction patterns using generalized Lotka-Volterra dynamics. We then construct co-occurrence networks and evaluate how well networks reveal the underlying interactions and how experimental and ecological parameters can affect network inference and interpretation. We find that co-occurrence networks can recapitulate interaction networks under certain conditions, but that they lose interpretability when the effects of habitat filtering become significant. We demonstrate that networks suffer from local hot spots of spurious correlation in the neighborhood of hub species that engage in many interactions. We also identify topological features associated with keystone species in co-occurrence networks. This study provides a substantiated framework to guide environmental microbiologists in the construction and interpretation of co-occurrence networks from microbial survey datasets.

Odense Pharmacoepidemiological Database: A Review of Use and Content.

PubMed

Hallas, Jesper; Hellfritzsch, Maja; Rix, Morten; Olesen, Morten; Reilev, Mette; Pottegård, Anton

2017-05-01

The Odense University Pharmacoepidemiological Database (OPED) is a prescription database established in 1990 by the University of Southern Denmark, covering reimbursed prescriptions from the county of Funen in Denmark and the region of Southern Denmark (1.2 million inhabitants). It is still active and thereby has more than 25 years of continuous coverage. In this MiniReview, we review its history, content, quality, coverage, governance and some of its uses. OPED's data include the Danish Civil Registration Number (CPR), which enables unambiguous linkage with virtually all other health-related registers in Denmark. Among its research uses, we review record linkage studies of drug effects, advanced drug utilization studies, some examples of method development and use of OPED as sampling frame to recruit patients for field studies or clinical trials. With the advent of other, more comprehensive sources of prescription data in Denmark, OPED may still play a role as in certain data-intensive regional studies. © 2017 Nordic Association for the Publication of BCPT (former Nordic Pharmacological Society).

The tragedy of becoming tired of living: Youth and young adults' suicide in Greenland and Denmark.

PubMed

Bolliger, Larissa; Gulis, Gabriel

2018-06-01

Suicide is a tremendous public health issue and worldwide the second leading cause of death among young people. In 2015, Greenland had the highest burden of disease due to self-harm with loss of 2,952.97 disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 inhabitants, more than six times as many as Denmark. What are possible reasons for Greenland's higher youth suicide rate compared to Denmark, despite being one kingdom of Denmark? Mixed methods in the form of qualitative, semi-structured interviews, the analysis of available data for 2003-2016 and a literature review were conducted with the aim to answer this question. Several exposures cause this difference, most significantly adverse effects of the colonial past, such as social issues and experienced traumas in Greenland compared to its former coloniser Denmark. The ongoing burden of youth suicide in Greenland requires enhanced actions of all stakeholders involved in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

Regionalization Lessons from Denmark.

PubMed

Vrangbaek, Karsten

2016-01-01

Denmark is a small Northern European country with an extensive welfare state and a strong commitment to maintaining a universal healthcare system. Like the other countries in the Nordic region, Denmark has a long tradition of democratically governed local and regional governments with extensive responsibilities in organizing welfare state services. The Danish healthcare system has demonstrated an ability to increase productivity, while at the same time maintaining a high level of patient satisfaction. Ongoing reforms have contributed to these results, as well as a firm commitment to innovation and coordination. Regions and municipalities in Denmark are governed by directly elected democratic councils. The Danish case is thus an example of democratic decentralization, but within a framework of national coordination and fiscal control. In spite of the difference in size and historical traditions there are also many similarities between Canada and Denmark, particularly in terms of health and social policy goals and aspirations, and in terms of the commitment to a comprehensive, universal healthcare system. These similarities provide interesting opportunities for comparison.

Occurrence of pharmaceutical contaminants and screening of treatment alternatives for southeastern Louisiana.

PubMed

Boyd, G R; Grimm, D A

2001-12-01

Recent studies conducted in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere indicate that low-level concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal-care products (PPCPs) and their metabolites may be widespread contaminants in our aquatic environment. The persistence of pharmaceutical contaminants has been attributed to (1) human consumption of drugs and subsequent discharges from sewage treatment plants, and (2) veterinary use of drugs and nonpoint discharges from agricultural runoff. Contamination of water resources by these compounds, particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), is emerging as an international environmental concern. The long-term effects of continuous, low-level exposure to PPCPs is not well understood. Preliminary data for raw water samples collected from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, are summarized. Three PPCP compounds (clofibric acid, naproxen, and estrone) were analyzed using solid-phase extraction, derivatization, and GC/MS. Batch experiments also were conducted to determine equilibrium capacity of activated carbon for clofibric acid. Preliminary results indicate the occurrence of the selected PPCP contaminants in raw water samples at or near method-detection limits. For batch equilibrium experiments, preliminary results indicate that activated carbon potentially can be used to remove clofibric acid from water. More research is needed to develop rapid and reliable methods for PPCP analysis and to determine the effectiveness of treatment processes for removal of PPCP contaminants in water.

Changes in private alcohol importation after alcohol tax reductions and import allowance increases in Denmark

PubMed Central

Grittner, Ulrike; Bloomfield, Kim

2010-01-01

AIMS This paper examines changes in alcohol import in Denmark between 2003 and 2006, after the excise tax on spirits in Denmark was lowered by 45% on October 1, 2003 and travellers’ allowances for alcohol import were increased on January1, 2004. Additionally, the paper seeks to develop a profile of alcohol importers and analyse the relation between the distance to the German border and import behaviour, as Germany is the main alcohol import country for Denmark. DATA Cross-sectional and panel data from Denmark, from 2003 to 2006, were analyzed. Samples were collected by telephone interviews, using random digit dialing. RESULTS While the percentage of people who imported alcohol fell over time, the amount of alcohol purchased rose for those who did import. Distance to the German border was inversely related to the likelihood of importing and the level of imported amounts. Heavy drinkers and those with higher incomes were more likely to import, and heavy drinkers imported higher amounts than moderate drinkers or abstainers. CONCLUSION Distance of residence from the German border, socio-economic status and drinking behaviour are related to private alcohol import in Denmark. Policy changes resulted in a shift to fewer people importing higher amounts of alcohol so that the overall import level did not change substantially. PMID:21532978

Validation of an instrument to measure moral distress within the Australian residential and community care environments.

PubMed

Burston, Adam; Eley, Robert; Parker, Deborah; Tuckett, Anthony

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to gain insight into the experience of moral distress within the aged care workforce. The objective of this study was to use and validate an existing instrument to measure moral distress within the aged care setting. Moral distress, a phenomenon associated with worker satisfaction and retention, is common within nursing. Instruments to measure moral distress exist; however, there are no validated instruments to measure moral distress within an aged care setting. An existing instrument, the Moral Distress Scale (Revised) was identified and amended. Amendments were subject to expert review for face and content validity. Data were collected from aged care nurses working in residential and community aged care, in Australia. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha with exploratory factor analysis undertaken for construct validity. 106 participants completed the survey, 93 (87.7%) identified as female and 13 (12.3%) male. Participants ranged in age from 21 to 73 years, with a mean time working in nursing of 20.6 years. The frequency component of the instrument demonstrated an alpha of 0.89, the intensity component 0.95 and the instrument as a whole 0.94. Three factors were identified and labelled as: Quality of Care, Capacity of Team and Professional Practice. Mean scores indicate a low occurrence of moral distress, but this distress, when experienced, was felt with a moderate level of intensity. Primary causes of moral distress were insufficient staff competency levels, poor quality care because of poor communication and delays in implementing palliation. The instrument demonstrates validity and reliability within the Australian aged care setting. Further analysis with larger populations is required to support these findings. Australian aged care workers do experience moral distress. They suffer adverse consequences of this distress and quality of care is negatively impacted. This newly validated instrument can be used to quantify the occurrence of moral distress and to inform targeted interventions to reduce the occurrence and intensity of the experience. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Intelligence as the efficiency of cue-driven retrieval from secondary memory.

PubMed

Liesefeld, Heinrich René; Hoffmann, Eugenia; Wentura, Dirk

2016-01-01

Complex-span (working-memory-capacity) tasks are among the most successful predictors of intelligence. One important contributor to this relationship is the ability to efficiently employ cues for the retrieval from secondary memory. Presumably, intelligent individuals can considerably restrict their memory search sets by using such cues and can thereby improve recall performance. We here test this assumption by experimentally manipulating the validity of retrieval cues. When memoranda are drawn from the same semantic category on two successive trials of a verbal complex-span task, the category is a very strong retrieval cue on its first occurrence (strong-cue trial) but loses some of its validity on its second occurrence (weak-cue trial). If intelligent individuals make better use of semantic categories as retrieval cues, their recall accuracy suffers more from this loss of cue validity. Accordingly, our results show that less variance in intelligence is explained by recall accuracy on weak-cue compared with strong-cue trials.

GIS-aided Statistical Landslide Susceptibility Modeling And Mapping Of Antipolo Rizal (Philippines)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumlao, A. J.; Victor, J. A.

2015-09-01

Slope instability associated with heavy rainfall or earthquake is a familiar geotechnical problem in the Philippines. The main objective of this study is to perform a detailed landslide susceptibility assessment of Antipolo City. The statistical method of assessment used was logistic regression. Landslide inventory was done through interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images with corresponding field verification. In this study, morphologic and non-morphologic factors contributing to landslide occurrence and their corresponding spatial relationships were considered. The analysis of landslide susceptibility was implemented in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The 17320 randomly selected datasets were divided into training and test data sets. K- cross fold validation is done with k= 5. The subsamples are then fitted five times with k-1 training data set and the remaining fold as the validation data set. The AUROC of each model is validated using each corresponding data set. The AUROC of the five models are; 0.978, 0.977, 0.977, 0.974, and 0.979 respectively, implying that the models are effective in correctly predicting the occurrence and nonoccurrence of landslide activity. Field verification was also done. The landslide susceptibility map was then generated from the model. It is classified into four categories; low, moderate, high and very high susceptibility. The study also shows that almost 40% of Antipolo City has been assessed to be potentially dangerous areas in terms of landslide occurrence.

Existing data sources for clinical epidemiology: Scandinavian Cohort for osteonecrosis of the jaw – work in progress and challenges

PubMed Central

Schiodt, Morten; Larsson Wexell, Cecilia; Herlofson, Bente Brokstad; Giltvedt, Karen Marie; Norholt, Sven Erik; Ehrenstein, Vera

2015-01-01

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a severe side effect associated with antiresorptive treatment. Monitoring of ONJ using routine databases in Scandinavian countries is a challenge owing to lack of valid algorithms and to heterogeneous referral practices. The aim of this paper is to describe the process of establishing a Scandinavian ONJ Cohort enrolling all ONJ cases related to antiresorptive treatment arising in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden between 2011 and 2019. The initial purpose of the cohort is to support an ongoing pharmacovigilance study of denosumab and zoledronic acid in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The three countries, with their 199 clinics, departments, and units of oral and maxillofacial surgery, both hospital-based and freestanding, differ somewhat in referral practices of the ONJ patients. By directly contacting all providers of care to ONJ patients in the three countries, we established a network for reporting incident cases to each country’s research database directly or through a member of the Scandinavian ONJ task force as a liaison. The task force includes a Scandinavian coordinator and three national coordinators collaborating directly with the clinics. A uniform ONJ registration form has been developed, and the relevant medical community has been informed either directly or through presentations at professional meetings. A website with study information is published in each country, and data entry is ongoing. This large-scale systematic uniform registration of ONJ cases in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, with an underlying total population of more than 20 million people, merged into the Scandinavian ONJ Cohort, will contribute to better knowledge and understanding of this challenging group of patients, and ultimately, help improve patient care. The Scandinavian ONJ Cohort as a whole and its component national ONJ research databases may offer the potential for large-scale multinational intervention and safety studies in the future. PMID:25657594

Oral health in children in Denmark under different public dental health care schemes.

PubMed

Christensen, L B; Petersen, P E; Hede, B

2010-06-01

To describe and analyse oral health of children and adolescents under two types of dental health care schemes under the Public Dental Health Service in Denmark, and to analyse possible influence of socio-economic and socio-cultural factors. Data on children's oral health status was obtained from public oral health registers and were pooled with data from questionnaires sent to parents of the children and adolescents. The study comprised individuals aged 5, 12 and 15, in total 2168 persons, randomly drawn from four municipalities with dental care provided by salaried dentists in public dental clinics and three municipalities with dental care provided by dentists in private practice. 70% of the parents completed a questionnaire including questions on socio-economic and socio-cultural background, lifestyle-related factors, self assessment of parents' oral- and general health. After the data were merged, the final study population represented 60% of the original target population. The mean caries experience (DMFS+dmfs) was 2.2 and further analysis of caries experience in each age group showed no variations in relation to type of provider of dental care. However, multiple dummy regression analyses demonstrated that low education, poor general health, foreign citizenship and smoking habits of the parents were important determinants for high level of caries in their children. Occurrence of dental caries as well as changes over time in levels of dental caries of Danish children did not vary by scheme of Public Dental Health Service, i.e. whether dental health care was provided by public employed dentists or by private practitioners. However, social inequalities still relate to caries experience in children and adolescents. Adjustment of preventive oral health activities strategy seems to be needed.

Carcinogenic HPV prevalence and age-specific type distribution in 40,382 women with normal cervical cytology, ASCUS/LSIL, HSIL, or cervical cancer: what is the potential for prevention?

PubMed

Kjær, Susanne K; Munk, Christian; Junge, Jette; Iftner, Thomas

2014-02-01

Assessment of the prevaccination type-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the general population is important for the prediction of the impact of HPV vaccination. We collected consecutively residual specimens from liquid-based cytology samples from 40,382 women from the general population in Copenhagen, Denmark, during 2002-2005. All samples were tested for high-risk HPV using the Hybrid Capture 2 technique, and genotyping was done using LiPa (Innogenetics). Through linkage with the Pathology Data Bank, we obtained information on the cytology result, and histology if any, on all women. The participants were 14-95 years of age (median age 37 years) at enrollment. The overall prevalence of HR HPV was 20.6 % ranging from 46.0 % in 20-23-year-old women to 5.7 % in women 65 years or older. Independently of cytology/histology, HPV16 was the most prevalent type. For virtually all HPV types, the occurrence of CIN3+ was higher when the specific HPV type was present together with HPV16 than it was together with other high-risk HPV types than HPV16 or if the HPV type occurred as a single infection. The prevalence of HPV16 and/or HPV18 was 74 % in cervical cancer and the corresponding prevalence of HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58 was 89 %. This study forms a valuable starting point for monitoring the effect of HPV vaccination in Denmark. In addition, the particular carcinogenic role of HPV16 and 18 is confirmed and may support a role of genotyping for HPV16 and 18 in cervical cancer screening.

Prevalence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy in Denmark.

PubMed

Sedeh, Farnam Barati; Scott, Daniel Andrew Richard; Subhi, Yousif; Sørensen, Torben Lykke

2017-11-01

In Denmark, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness. To better understand current and future challenges, we estimated and projected the annual number of patients with neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy in Denmark from 2016 to 2060. Detailed age- and gender-stratified prevalence estimates of neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy in a Scandinavian population were identified and applied to age- and gender-stratified population numbers provided by Statistics Denmark. Prevalence estimates were calculated for each year from 2016 to 2060. Future forecasts were provided by Statistics Denmark and based on calculations by the Danish Institute for Economic Modelling and Forecasting. We estimated that there are currently ~30,000 patients with neovascular AMD and ~21,000 patients with geographic atrophy in Denmark. The majority of these patients are persons aged ≥ 85 years. For neovascular AMD, the number of patients will grow to ~33,000 in 2020, ~58,000 in 2040 and ~72,000 in 2060. For geographic atrophy, the number of patients will grow to ~23,000 in 2020, ~41,000 in 2040, and ~50,000 in 2060. We expect a steady growth in the prevalence of neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy in Denmark due to an ageing population. These numbers emphasise the importance of disease prevention, careful planning of health service activities and continuing research. none. not relevant. Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Global War Game: Second Series, 1984-1988

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-08-01

Poland Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg 14°6° 48° 52° R hine Schleswig- Holstein Kiel Canal Denmark E lbe Elbe W eser Bremerhaven Frankfurt Fulda...consolidation continued on D+11, and two Polish armies pushed into Schleswig- Holstein , cutting off Denmark from the rest of NATO. The Warsaw Pact offensive...Switzerland Liechtenstein Italy Austria Czech Republic Poland Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg 14°6° 48° 52° R hine Schleswig- Holstein Kiel Canal Denmark FRG

Learning From Iraq: A Final Report From the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

organizations that benefit Iraqi refugees, internally displaced persons, and other conflict victims; funding is also pro - vided to non-governmental...corrupt countries in the world. 0 2 4 6 8 10 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Finland Finland Iceland Finland Iceland New Zealand Denmark... Finland New Zealand Denmark New Zealand Sweden New ZealandNew Zealand Denmark New Zealand Singapore (113) (129) (137) (160) (133) Bangladesh (145

[KON-2006--Neurotic Personality Questionnaire].

PubMed

Aleksandrowicz, Jerzy W; Klasa, Katarzyna; Sobański, Jerzy A; Stolarska, Dorota

2007-01-01

Construction of a questionnaire describing personality traits connected to the occurrence and persistence of neurotic disorders. Responses of 794 patients (before treatment) and 520 persons from the control group on items of the constructed personality questionnaire and the symptom checklist "0". Analyses of subscales reliability and item-scale correlations, test-retest and split-half reliability. Factor analyses estimating internal reliability of the questionnaire. Cross-validation with the KO"0". symptom checklist Psychometric properties of KON-2006 questionnaire indicate that it is consistent and reliable enough. Validity analyses indicate a large probability that the X-KON coefficient informs on personality dysfunctions related to neurotic disorders. The Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006 may serve to estimate personality traits connected to the occurrence and persistence of neurotic disorders as well as changes resulting from psychotherapy.

Negative Coefficients in the GRE Validity Study Service. GRE Research. GRE Board Professional Report No. 89-05P.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longford, Nicholas T.

Operational procedures for the Graduate Record Examinations Validity Study Service are reviewed, with emphasis on the problem of frequent occurrence of negative coefficients in the fitted within-department regressions obtained by the empirical Bayes method of H. I. Braun and D. Jones (1985). Several alterations of the operational procedures are…

26 CFR 521.101 - Introductory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish... property (including rentals and like payments in respect of motion picture films) derived from sources...

26 CFR 521.101 - Introductory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish... property (including rentals and like payments in respect of motion picture films) derived from sources...

26 CFR 521.101 - Introductory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish... property (including rentals and like payments in respect of motion picture films) derived from sources...

26 CFR 521.101 - Introductory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish... property (including rentals and like payments in respect of motion picture films) derived from sources...

Public health research in Denmark in the years 1995--2005.

PubMed

Gulis, G; Eriksen, M L; Aro, A R

2010-02-01

The objective of this study was to find out the number of publications (in Danish) and research projects (including grey literature) either carried out or ongoing within the field of public health in Denmark, using the same criteria as the SPHERE project, but looking at Danish research databases. The Danish research database served as the main resource for the study supported by national research reports. There is an increasing trend in the number of public health research projects and publications. Compared with public health research projects published in English there are differences in some categories. Overall, public health research in Denmark seems to contribute around 4.8%-6.5% of the total amount of health research. Public health research has a relatively low share of overall health research in Denmark.

Validation of a Screening Questionnaire for Chronic Leg Ulcers.

PubMed

Zarchi, Kian; Theut Riis, Peter; Graversgaard, Christine; Miller, Iben M; Heidenheim, Michael; Jemec, Gregor B E

2016-12-01

The use of a validated screening questionnaire to identify individuals with chronic leg ulcers allows large-scale population-based studies to be conducted that measure and monitor the prevalence of the disease. The aim of this study was to design and validate such a screening questionnaire to identify patients with chronic leg ulcers. A simple 3-item questionnaire was developed at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zealand, Denmark. In total, 90 patients attending the department's outpatient clinic for dermatological diseases and chronic wounds were included in this study. All included participants completed the questionnaire and were subsequently examined by dermatologists. We found that the constructed 3-item questionnaire in this study had a sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 93% and a positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 78% and 95%, respectively. Moreover, we found that the use of the 3-item questionnaire, as compared with a single question, in which the participants were asked whether they currently have a leg ulcer, resulted in significantly higher positive predictive value (+11.6%, P = .035) and specificity (+5.6%, P = .046) of the diagnostic test. Future studies are merited to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the questionnaire in other populations and settings.

Energy and Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorensen, Bent

1975-01-01

Discusses the feasibility of utilizing continuous sources of of energy, particularly solar and wind energy. Outlines an energy plan for Denmark, which would supply all of Denmark's energy needs by the year 2050. (MLH)

2 CFR 176.90 - Non-application to acquisitions covered under international agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong..., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg...

[The importance of centralized treatment: research and development].

PubMed

Højgaard, Liselotte

2006-04-10

Biomedical research in Denmark enjoys a strong position at present but will be challenged by a new organization for all hospitals in Denmark beginning in 2007. It will be very important to recognize the importance of medical research as the cornerstone of optimal patient treatment in the new hospital organizations. Centralization with a focus on efficiency and low cost, as well as decentralization combined with the loss of university hospital functions, will further challenge the conditions of clinical research already seen worldwide and also experienced in Denmark.

Deciphering microbial interactions and detecting keystone species with co-occurrence networks

PubMed Central

Berry, David; Widder, Stefanie

2014-01-01

Co-occurrence networks produced from microbial survey sequencing data are frequently used to identify interactions between community members. While this approach has potential to reveal ecological processes, it has been insufficiently validated due to the technical limitations inherent in studying complex microbial ecosystems. Here, we simulate multi-species microbial communities with known interaction patterns using generalized Lotka-Volterra dynamics. We then construct co-occurrence networks and evaluate how well networks reveal the underlying interactions and how experimental and ecological parameters can affect network inference and interpretation. We find that co-occurrence networks can recapitulate interaction networks under certain conditions, but that they lose interpretability when the effects of habitat filtering become significant. We demonstrate that networks suffer from local hot spots of spurious correlation in the neighborhood of hub species that engage in many interactions. We also identify topological features associated with keystone species in co-occurrence networks. This study provides a substantiated framework to guide environmental microbiologists in the construction and interpretation of co-occurrence networks from microbial survey datasets. PMID:24904535

High-voltage leak detection of a parenteral proteinaceous solution product packaged in form-fill-seal plastic laminate bags. Part 1. Method development and validation.

PubMed

Damgaard, Rasmus; Rasmussen, Mats; Buus, Peter; Mulhall, Brian; Guazzo, Dana Morton

2013-01-01

In Part 1 of this three-part research series, a leak test performed using high-voltage leak detection (HVLD) technology, also referred to as an electrical conductivity and capacitance leak test, was developed and validated for container-closure integrity verification of a small-volume laminate plastic bag containing an aqueous solution for injection. The sterile parenteral product is the rapid-acting insulin analogue, insulin aspart (NovoRapid®/NovoLog®, by Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsværd, Denmark). The aseptically filled and sealed package is designed to preserve product sterility through expiry. Method development and validation work incorporated positive control packages with a single hole laser-drilled through the laminate film of each bag. A unique HVLD method characterized by specific high-voltage and potentiometer set points was established for testing bags positioned in each of three possible orientations as they are conveyed through the instrument's test zone in each of two possible directions-resulting in a total of six different test method options. Validation study results successfully demonstrated the ability of all six methods to accurately and reliably detect those packages with laser-drilled holes from 2.5-11.2 μm in nominal diameter. Part 2 of this series will further explore HVLD test results as a function of package seal and product storage variables. The final Part 3 will report the impact of HVLD exposure on product physico-chemical stability. In this Part 1 of a three-part research series, a leak test method based on electrical conductivity and capacitance, called high voltage leak detection (HVLD), was used to find leaks in small plastic bags filled with an insulin pharmaceutical solution for human injection by Novo Nordisk A/S (Bagsværd, Denmark). To perform the test, the package is electrically grounded while being conveyed past an electrode linked to a high-voltage, low-amperage transformer. The instrument measures the current that passes from the transformer to the electrode, through the packaged product and along the package walls, to the ground. Plastic packages without defect are relatively nonconductive and yield a low voltage reading; a leaking package with electrically conductive solution located in or near the leak triggers a spike in voltage reading. Test methods were optimized and validated, enabling the detection of leaking packages with holes as small as 2.5 μm in diameter. Part 2 of this series will further explore HVLD test results as a function of package seal and product storage variables. The final Part 3 will report the impact of HVLD exposure on product stability.

Varying coefficient subdistribution regression for left-truncated semi-competing risks data.

PubMed

Li, Ruosha; Peng, Limin

2014-10-01

Semi-competing risks data frequently arise in biomedical studies when time to a disease landmark event is subject to dependent censoring by death, the observation of which however is not precluded by the occurrence of the landmark event. In observational studies, the analysis of such data can be further complicated by left truncation. In this work, we study a varying co-efficient subdistribution regression model for left-truncated semi-competing risks data. Our method appropriately accounts for the specifical truncation and censoring features of the data, and moreover has the flexibility to accommodate potentially varying covariate effects. The proposed method can be easily implemented and the resulting estimators are shown to have nice asymptotic properties. We also present inference, such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov type and Cramér Von-Mises type hypothesis testing procedures for the covariate effects. Simulation studies and an application to the Denmark diabetes registry demonstrate good finite-sample performance and practical utility of the proposed method.

Play Spaces in Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Edna; Anderson, Robert T.

1980-01-01

Describes the variety of play spaces found in urban areas in Denmark: in banks, stores and individual businesses, neighborhood parks and small pocket playgrounds, specialized adventure and traffic playgrounds with supervised activities, and commercial amusement parks. (CM)

High-frequency fluctuations in Denmark Strait transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haine, T. W. N.

2010-07-01

Denmark Strait ocean current transport exhibits quasi-regular fluctuations immediately south of the sill with periods of 2-4 days. The transport variability is similar to the mean transport itself. Using a circulation model we explore prospects to monitor the fluctuations. The model has realistic transport and shows water leaving Denmark Strait in equivalent-barotropic cyclones that are nearly geostrophic and correlate with sea-surface height (SSH). Existing satellite altimeter observations of SSH have adequate space/time sampling to reconstruct the transport fluctuations using a regression developed from the model results, but measurement error overwhelms the signal. From the model results, the pending Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wide-swath altimeter appears accurate enough, and with good-enough coverage, to allow the transport fluctuations to be reconstructed. Bottom pressure recorders at the exit of the Denmark Strait can also reproduce the transport variability.

[High levels of industrially produced trans fatty acids in popular fast food - but not in Denmark--secondary publication].

PubMed

Stender, Steen; Dyerberg, Jørn; Bysted, Anette; Leth, Torben; Astrup, Arne V

2006-04-24

An intake of trans-fatty acids of 5 grams per day is associated with an increase of 25% in the risk of ischemic heart disease. In 2004 Denmark, as the first country in the world, introduced a limitation on the content of industrially produced trans-fatty acids in foods. The amount in a "high-trans menu" consisting of popular foods was, from 2001 to 2005, reduced in Denmark from 30 g to <1 g. The amount in the same menu bought in countries within and outside the European Union is 20-40 g. During a period of just a few years, Denmark has thus eliminated a risk factor for ischemic heart disease without noticeable side effects for consumers. This risk factor is, however, still present in many other countries.

Marked differences in GPs' diagnosis of pneumonia between Denmark and Spain: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Christensen, Sarah Friis; Jørgensen, Lars Christian; Cordoba, Gloria; Llor, Carl; Siersma, Volkert; Bjerrum, Lars

2013-12-01

In patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) it is a challenge to identify who should be treated with antibiotics. According to international guidelines, antibiotics should be prescribed to patients with suspected pneumonia while acute bronchitis is considered a viral infection and should, generally, not be treated with antibiotics. Overdiagnosis of pneumonia in patients with LRTIs may lead to antibiotic overprescribing. To investigate the prevalence of presumed pneumonia in patients with LRTI in two countries with different antibiotic prescribing rates (Denmark and Spain) and to compare which symptoms and clinical tests are of most importance for the GP when choosing a diagnosis of pneumonia rather than acute bronchitis. A cross-sectional study including GPs from Denmark and Spain was conducted as part of the EU-funded project HAPPY AUDIT. A total of 2,698 patients with LRTI were included. In Denmark, 47% of the patients with LRTI were classified with a diagnosis of pneumonia compared with 11% in Spain. In Spain, fever and a positive x-ray weighted significantly more in the diagnosis of pneumonia than in Denmark. Danish GPs, however, attached more importance to dyspnoea/polypnoea and C-reactive protein levels >50mg/L. None of the other typical symptoms of pneumonia had a significant influence. Our results indicate that GPs' diagnostic criteria for pneumonia differ substantially between Denmark and Spain. The high prevalence of pneumonia among Danish patients with LRTI may indicate overdiagnosis of pneumonia which, in turn, may lead to antibiotic overprescribing.

Occurrence of Anti-Drug Antibodies against Interferon-Beta and Natalizumab in Multiple Sclerosis: A Collaborative Cohort Analysis

PubMed Central

Mbogning, Cyprien; Link, Jenny; Ryner, Malin; Ramanujam, Ryan; Auer, Michael; Hyldgaard Jensen, Poul Erik; Koch-Henriksen, Nils; Warnke, Clemens; Ingenhoven, Kathleen; Buck, Dorothea; Grummel, Verena; Lawton, Andy; Donnellan, Naoimh; Hincelin-Mery, Agnès; Sikkema, Dan; Pallardy, Marc; Kieseier, Bernd; Hemmer, Bernard; Hartung, Hans Peter; Soelberg Sorensen, Per; Deisenhammer, Florian; Dönnes, Pierre; Davidson, Julie; Fogdell-Hahn, Anna; Broët, Philippe

2016-01-01

Immunogenicity of biopharmaceutical products in multiple sclerosis is a frequent side effect which has a multifactorial etiology. Here we study associations between anti-drug antibody (ADA) occurrence and demographic and clinical factors. Retrospective data from routine ADA test laboratories in Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany (Dusseldorf group) and from one research study in Germany (Munich group) were gathered to build a collaborative multi-cohort dataset within the framework of the ABIRISK project. A subset of 5638 interferon-beta (IFNβ)-treated and 3440 natalizumab-treated patients having data on at least the first two years of treatment were eligible for interval-censored time-to-event analysis. In multivariate Cox regression, IFNβ-1a subcutaneous and IFNβ-1b subcutaneous treated patients were at higher risk of ADA occurrence compared to IFNβ-1a intramuscular-treated patients (pooled HR = 6.4, 95% CI 4.9–8.4 and pooled HR = 8.7, 95% CI 6.6–11.4 respectively). Patients older than 50 years at start of IFNβ therapy developed ADA more frequently than adult patients younger than 30 (pooled HR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.3). Men developed ADA more frequently than women (pooled HR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6). Interestingly we observed that in Sweden and Germany, patients who started IFNβ in April were at higher risk of developing ADA (HR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.4 and HR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.5–3.9 respectively). This result is not confirmed in the other cohorts and warrants further investigations. Concerning natalizumab, patients older than 45 years had a higher ADA rate (pooled HR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–1.8) and women developed ADA more frequently than men (pooled HR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–2.0). We confirmed previously reported differences in immunogenicity of the different types of IFNβ. Differences in ADA occurrence by sex and age are reported here for the first time. These findings should be further investigated taking into account other exposures and biomarkers. PMID:27806057

Occurrence of Anti-Drug Antibodies against Interferon-Beta and Natalizumab in Multiple Sclerosis: A Collaborative Cohort Analysis.

PubMed

Bachelet, Delphine; Hässler, Signe; Mbogning, Cyprien; Link, Jenny; Ryner, Malin; Ramanujam, Ryan; Auer, Michael; Hyldgaard Jensen, Poul Erik; Koch-Henriksen, Nils; Warnke, Clemens; Ingenhoven, Kathleen; Buck, Dorothea; Grummel, Verena; Lawton, Andy; Donnellan, Naoimh; Hincelin-Mery, Agnès; Sikkema, Dan; Pallardy, Marc; Kieseier, Bernd; Hemmer, Bernard; Hartung, Hans Peter; Soelberg Sorensen, Per; Deisenhammer, Florian; Dönnes, Pierre; Davidson, Julie; Fogdell-Hahn, Anna; Broët, Philippe

2016-01-01

Immunogenicity of biopharmaceutical products in multiple sclerosis is a frequent side effect which has a multifactorial etiology. Here we study associations between anti-drug antibody (ADA) occurrence and demographic and clinical factors. Retrospective data from routine ADA test laboratories in Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany (Dusseldorf group) and from one research study in Germany (Munich group) were gathered to build a collaborative multi-cohort dataset within the framework of the ABIRISK project. A subset of 5638 interferon-beta (IFNβ)-treated and 3440 natalizumab-treated patients having data on at least the first two years of treatment were eligible for interval-censored time-to-event analysis. In multivariate Cox regression, IFNβ-1a subcutaneous and IFNβ-1b subcutaneous treated patients were at higher risk of ADA occurrence compared to IFNβ-1a intramuscular-treated patients (pooled HR = 6.4, 95% CI 4.9-8.4 and pooled HR = 8.7, 95% CI 6.6-11.4 respectively). Patients older than 50 years at start of IFNβ therapy developed ADA more frequently than adult patients younger than 30 (pooled HR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.3). Men developed ADA more frequently than women (pooled HR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.6). Interestingly we observed that in Sweden and Germany, patients who started IFNβ in April were at higher risk of developing ADA (HR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.4 and HR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.5-3.9 respectively). This result is not confirmed in the other cohorts and warrants further investigations. Concerning natalizumab, patients older than 45 years had a higher ADA rate (pooled HR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.8) and women developed ADA more frequently than men (pooled HR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-2.0). We confirmed previously reported differences in immunogenicity of the different types of IFNβ. Differences in ADA occurrence by sex and age are reported here for the first time. These findings should be further investigated taking into account other exposures and biomarkers.

Variability and validity of intimate partner violence reporting by couples in Tanzania.

PubMed

Halim, Nafisa; Steven, Ester; Reich, Naomi; Badi, Lilian; Messersmith, Lisa

2018-01-01

In recent years, major global institutions have amplified their efforts to address intimate partner violence (IPV) against women-a global health and human rights violation affecting 15-71% of reproductive aged women over their lifetimes. Still, some scholars remain concerned about the validity of instruments used for IPV assessment in population-based studies. In this paper, we conducted two validation analyses using novel data from 450 women-men dyads across nine villages in Northern Tanzania. First, we examined the level of inter-partner agreement in reporting of men's physical, sexual, emotional and economic IPV against women in the last three and twelve months prior to the survey, ever in the relationship, and during pregnancy. Second, we conducted a convergent validity analysis to compare the relative efficacy of men's self-reports of perpetration and women's of victimization as a valid indicator of IPV against Tanzanian women using logistic regression models with village-level clustered errors. We found that, for every violence type across the recall periods of the last three months, the last twelve months and ever in the relationship, at least one in three couples disagreed about IPV occurrences in the relationship. Couples' agreement about physical, sexual and economic IPV during pregnancy was high with 86-93% of couples reporting concordantly. Also, men's self-reported perpetration had statistically significant associations with at least as many validated risk factors as had women's self-reported victimization. This finding suggests that men's self-reports are at least as valid as women's as an indicator of IPV against women in Northern Tanzania. We recommend more validation studies are conducted in low-income countries, and that data on relationship factors affecting IPV reports and reporting are made available along with data on IPV occurrences.

Optimization of Artificial Neural Network using Evolutionary Programming for Prediction of Cascading Collapse Occurrence due to the Hidden Failure Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idris, N. H.; Salim, N. A.; Othman, M. M.; Yasin, Z. M.

2018-03-01

This paper presents the Evolutionary Programming (EP) which proposed to optimize the training parameters for Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in predicting cascading collapse occurrence due to the effect of protection system hidden failure. The data has been collected from the probability of hidden failure model simulation from the historical data. The training parameters of multilayer-feedforward with backpropagation has been optimized with objective function to minimize the Mean Square Error (MSE). The optimal training parameters consists of the momentum rate, learning rate and number of neurons in first hidden layer and second hidden layer is selected in EP-ANN. The IEEE 14 bus system has been tested as a case study to validate the propose technique. The results show the reliable prediction of performance validated through MSE and Correlation Coefficient (R).

Nationwide Genomic Study in Denmark Reveals Remarkable Population Homogeneity

PubMed Central

Athanasiadis, Georgios; Cheng, Jade Y.; Vilhjálmsson, Bjarni J.; Jørgensen, Frank G.; Als, Thomas D.; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Espeseth, Thomas; Sullivan, Patrick F.; Hultman, Christina M.; Kjærgaard, Peter C.; Schierup, Mikkel H.; Mailund, Thomas

2016-01-01

Denmark has played a substantial role in the history of Northern Europe. Through a nationwide scientific outreach initiative, we collected genetic and anthropometrical data from ∼800 high school students and used them to elucidate the genetic makeup of the Danish population, as well as to assess polygenic predictions of phenotypic traits in adolescents. We observed remarkable homogeneity across different geographic regions, although we could still detect weak signals of genetic structure reflecting the history of the country. Denmark presented genomic affinity with primarily neighboring countries with overall resemblance of decreasing weight from Britain, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and France. A Polish admixture signal was detected in Zealand and Funen, and our date estimates coincided with historical evidence of Wend settlements in the south of Denmark. We also observed considerably diverse demographic histories among Scandinavian countries, with Denmark having the smallest current effective population size compared to Norway and Sweden. Finally, we found that polygenic prediction of self-reported adolescent height in the population was remarkably accurate (R2 = 0.639 ± 0.015). The high homogeneity of the Danish population could render population structure a lesser concern for the upcoming large-scale gene-mapping studies in the country. PMID:27535931

Differing Procedures for Recording Mortality Statistics in Scandinavia.

PubMed

Tøllefsen, Ingvild M; Hem, Erlend; Ekeberg, Øivind; Zahl, Per-Henrik; Helweg-Larsen, Karin

2017-03-01

There may be various reasons for differences in suicide rates between countries and over time within a country. One reason can be different registration practices. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the present procedures for mortality and suicide registration in the three Scandinavian countries and to illustrate potential sources of error in the registration of suicide. Information about registration practices and classification procedures was obtained from the cause of death registers in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. In addition, we received information from experts in the field in each country. Sweden uses event of undetermined intent more frequently than Denmark does, and Denmark more frequently than Norway. There seems to be somewhat more uncertainty among deaths classified as ill-defined and unknown cause of mortality in Norway, compared with the other two countries. Sweden performs more forensic autopsies than Norway, and Norway more than Denmark. In Denmark, in cases of a suspected unnatural manner of death, a thorough external examination of the deceased is performed. Differences in the classification of causes of death and in postmortem examinations exist in Scandinavian countries. These differences might influence the suicide statistics in Scandinavia.

Validation of the Early Functional Abilities scale: An assessment of four dimensions in early recovery after traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Poulsen, Ingrid; Kreiner, Svend; Engberg, Aase W

2018-02-13

The Early Functional Abilities scale assesses the restoration of brain function after brain injury, based on 4 dimensions. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the validity, objectivity, reliability and measurement precision of the Early Functional Abilities scale by Rasch model item analysis. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between the Early Functional Abilities scale and the Functional Independence Measurement™, in order to establish the criterion validity of the Early Functional Abilities scale and to compare the sensitivity of measurements using the 2 instruments. The Rasch analysis was based on the assessment of 408 adult patients at admission to sub-acute rehabilitation in Copenhagen, Denmark after traumatic brain injury. The Early Functional Abilities scale provides valid and objective measurement of vegetative (autonomic), facio-oral, sensorimotor and communicative/cognitive functions. Removal of one item from the sensorimotor scale confirmed unidimensionality for each of the 4 subscales, but not for the entire scale. The Early Functional Abilities subscales are sensitive to differences between patients in ranges in which the Functional Independence Measurement™ has a floor effect. The Early Functional Abilities scale assesses the early recovery of important aspects of brain function after traumatic brain injury, but is not unidimensional. We recommend removal of the "standing" item and calculation of summary subscales for the separate dimensions.

Scandinavian neuroscience during the Nazi era.

PubMed

Kondziella, Daniel; Hansen, Klaus; Zeidman, Lawrence A

2013-07-01

Although Scandinavian neuroscience has a proud history, its status during the Nazi era has been overlooked. In fact, prominent neuroscientists in German-occupied Denmark and Norway, as well as in neutral Sweden, were directly affected. Mogens Fog, Poul Thygesen (Denmark) and Haakon Sæthre (Norway) were resistance fighters, tortured by the Gestapo: Thygesen was imprisoned in concentration camps and Sæthre executed. Jan Jansen (Norway), another neuroscientist resistor, escaped to Sweden, returning under disguise to continue fighting. Fritz Buchthal (Denmark) was one of almost 8000 Jews escaping deportation by fleeing from Copenhagen to Sweden. In contrast, Carl Værnet (Denmark) became a collaborator, conducting inhuman experiments in Buchenwald concentration camp, and Herman Lundborg (Sweden) and Thorleif Østrem (Norway) advanced racial hygiene in order to maintain the "superior genetic pool of the Nordic race." Compared to other Nazi-occupied countries, there was a high ratio of resistance fighters to collaborators and victims among the neuroscientists in Scandinavia.

FAMILY PYRGOTIDAE.

PubMed

Mello, Ramon Luciano; Lamas, Carlos José Einicker

2016-06-14

Pyrgotidae is a family of endoparasitics flies of beetles with worldwide distribution. The Neotropical fauna is composed by 59 valid species names disposed in 13 genera. The occurrence of Pyrgota longipes Hendel is the first record of the family in Colombia.

Awareness of cancer symptoms and anticipated patient interval for healthcare seeking. A comparative study of Denmark and Sweden.

PubMed

Hvidberg, Line; Lagerlund, Magdalena; Pedersen, Anette F; Hajdarevic, Senada; Tishelman, Carol; Vedsted, Peter

2016-07-01

Background Recent epidemiologic data show that Denmark has considerably poorer survival from common cancers than Sweden. This may be related to a lower awareness of cancer symptoms and longer patient intervals in Denmark than in Sweden. The aims of this study were to: 1) compare population awareness of three possible symptoms of cancer (unexplained lump or swelling, unexplained bleeding and persistent cough or hoarseness); 2) compare anticipated patient interval when noticing any breast changes, rectal bleeding and persistent cough; and 3) examine whether potential differences were noticeable in particular age groups or at particular levels of education in a Danish and Swedish population sample. Method Data were derived from Module 2 of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership. Telephone interviews using the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer measure were conducted in 2011 among 3000 adults in Denmark and 3070 adults in Sweden. Results Danish respondents reported a higher awareness of two of three symptoms (i.e. unexplained lump or swelling and persistent cough or hoarseness) and a shorter anticipated patient interval for two of three symptoms studied (i.e. any breast changes and rectal bleeding) than Swedish respondents. Differences in symptom awareness and anticipated patient interval between these countries were most pronounced in highly educated respondents. Conclusion Somewhat paradoxically, the highest awareness of symptoms of cancer and the shortest anticipated patient intervals were found in Denmark, where cancer survival is lower than in Sweden. Thus, it appears that these differences in symptom awareness and anticipated patient interval do not help explain the cancer survival disparity between Denmark and Sweden.

Implementation of revolutionary legislation for informed consent for dental patients receiving amalgam restorations.

PubMed

Edlich, Richard F; Cross, Catherine L; Dahlstrom, Jill J; Long, William B; Newkirk, Anthony T

2008-01-01

Mercury is one of the most dangerous environmental toxins. Realizing the environmental dangers of mercury, the Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, has therefore prohibited the use of mercury in products in Norway. This ban will include dental filling materials (amalgam) and measuring instruments, as well as other products. This ban is valid from January 1, 2008. Sweden announced a similar ban, and dentists in Denmark will no longer be able to use mercury in fillings after April 1, 2008. It is indeed unfortunate that the United States has not taken a leadership role in enacting Informed Consent Legislations for patients receiving dental amalgam restorations. Informed Consent Legislations have been enacted by Maine, California, Connecticut, and Vermont.

Detection of a Diverse Marine Fish Fauna Using Environmental DNA from Seawater Samples

PubMed Central

Iversen, Lars Lønsmann; Møller, Peter Rask; Rasmussen, Morten; Willerslev, Eske

2012-01-01

Marine ecosystems worldwide are under threat with many fish species and populations suffering from human over-exploitation. This is greatly impacting global biodiversity, economy and human health. Intriguingly, marine fish are largely surveyed using selective and invasive methods, which are mostly limited to commercial species, and restricted to particular areas with favourable conditions. Furthermore, misidentification of species represents a major problem. Here, we investigate the potential of using metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) obtained directly from seawater samples to account for marine fish biodiversity. This eDNA approach has recently been used successfully in freshwater environments, but never in marine settings. We isolate eDNA from ½-litre seawater samples collected in a temperate marine ecosystem in Denmark. Using next-generation DNA sequencing of PCR amplicons, we obtain eDNA from 15 different fish species, including both important consumption species, as well as species rarely or never recorded by conventional monitoring. We also detect eDNA from a rare vagrant species in the area; European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus). Additionally, we detect four bird species. Records in national databases confirmed the occurrence of all detected species. To investigate the efficiency of the eDNA approach, we compared its performance with 9 methods conventionally used in marine fish surveys. Promisingly, eDNA covered the fish diversity better than or equal to any of the applied conventional methods. Our study demonstrates that even small samples of seawater contain eDNA from a wide range of local fish species. Finally, in order to examine the potential dispersal of eDNA in oceans, we performed an experiment addressing eDNA degradation in seawater, which shows that even small (100-bp) eDNA fragments degrades beyond detectability within days. Although further studies are needed to validate the eDNA approach in varying environmental conditions, our findings provide a strong proof-of-concept with great perspectives for future monitoring of marine biodiversity and resources. PMID:22952584

Detection of a diverse marine fish fauna using environmental DNA from seawater samples.

PubMed

Thomsen, Philip Francis; Kielgast, Jos; Iversen, Lars Lønsmann; Møller, Peter Rask; Rasmussen, Morten; Willerslev, Eske

2012-01-01

Marine ecosystems worldwide are under threat with many fish species and populations suffering from human over-exploitation. This is greatly impacting global biodiversity, economy and human health. Intriguingly, marine fish are largely surveyed using selective and invasive methods, which are mostly limited to commercial species, and restricted to particular areas with favourable conditions. Furthermore, misidentification of species represents a major problem. Here, we investigate the potential of using metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) obtained directly from seawater samples to account for marine fish biodiversity. This eDNA approach has recently been used successfully in freshwater environments, but never in marine settings. We isolate eDNA from ½-litre seawater samples collected in a temperate marine ecosystem in Denmark. Using next-generation DNA sequencing of PCR amplicons, we obtain eDNA from 15 different fish species, including both important consumption species, as well as species rarely or never recorded by conventional monitoring. We also detect eDNA from a rare vagrant species in the area; European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus). Additionally, we detect four bird species. Records in national databases confirmed the occurrence of all detected species. To investigate the efficiency of the eDNA approach, we compared its performance with 9 methods conventionally used in marine fish surveys. Promisingly, eDNA covered the fish diversity better than or equal to any of the applied conventional methods. Our study demonstrates that even small samples of seawater contain eDNA from a wide range of local fish species. Finally, in order to examine the potential dispersal of eDNA in oceans, we performed an experiment addressing eDNA degradation in seawater, which shows that even small (100-bp) eDNA fragments degrades beyond detectability within days. Although further studies are needed to validate the eDNA approach in varying environmental conditions, our findings provide a strong proof-of-concept with great perspectives for future monitoring of marine biodiversity and resources.

Genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA among Enterobius vermicularis in Denmark.

PubMed

Ferrero, Mario Rodrıguez; Röser, Dennis; Nielsen, Henrik Vedel; Olsen, Annette; Nejsum, Peter

2013-01-01

Despite being the most prevalent nematode infections of man in Western Europe and North America, our knowledge of the genetic variability in Enterobius vermicularis is fragmented. We here report on a genetic study of pinworms in Denmark, performed using the cytochrome oxidase I (cox1) gene, with DNA extracted from individual eggs collected from clinical (human) samples. We collected cellophane-tape-test samples positive for pinworm eggs from 14 Departments of Clinical Microbiology in Denmark and surface-sterilized the eggs using a 1% hypochlorite solution before performing conventional PCR. Twenty-two haplotypes were identified from a total of 58 Danish patients. Cluster analysis showed that all Danish worms grouped together with human samples from Germany and Greece and with samples from Japanese chimpanzees designated as 'type B'. Analysis of molecular variance showed no significant difference or trends in geographical distribution of the pinworms in Denmark, and several haplotypes were identical or closely related to samples collected in Germany, Greece and Japan. However, worms from the 4 countries were found to belong to different populations, with Fst values in the range of 0·16 to 0·47. This study shows pinworms in Denmark to be a homogenous population, when analysed using the cox1 mitochondrial gene.

'Angels in nursing': images of nursing sisters in a Lutheran context in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

PubMed

Malchau, Susanne

2007-12-01

This article examines Catholic nursing orders in Denmark. In 1849, 300 years after the Reformation, freedom of worship was introduced in Lutheran Denmark. In 1856 the first Catholic nursing order in modern times settled in the country. Others followed, and in 1940 the nursing orders owned 17 general hospitals and had a share of 10% of the hospital beds in Denmark. The purpose of this article is to identify images in the public media text of these Catholic nursing orders in Denmark from 1856 to the present, and to deconstruct the existing angel image the nuns and sisters in nursing have obtained. The assumption is that the public image is an important indicator of how a profession is valued in society. Six images - three positive and three negative - are identified, and it is demonstrated that these images were closely connected to the nursing sisters' professional activities and confessional affiliation. Until the 1950s the image of nursing sisters as representing a counterculture in Lutheran Denmark persisted. This image was succeeded by one of professional nurses of high standards. The shift was caused by increased secularisation and the renewal of religious life, as a result of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

Mortality and life expectancy of people with alcohol use disorder in Denmark, Finland and Sweden

PubMed Central

Westman, J; Wahlbeck, K; Laursen, T M; Gissler, M; Nordentoft, M; Hällgren, J; Arffman, M; Ösby, U

2015-01-01

Objective To analyse mortality and life expectancy in people with alcohol use disorder in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Method A population-based register study including all patients admitted to hospital diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (1 158 486 person-years) from 1987 to 2006 in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Results Life expectancy was 24–28 years shorter in people with alcohol use disorder than in the general population. From 1987 to 2006, the difference in life expectancy between patients with alcohol use disorder and the general population increased in men (Denmark, 1.8 years; Finland, 2.6 years; Sweden, 1.0 years); in women, the difference in life expectancy increased in Denmark (0.3 years) but decreased in Finland (−0.8 years) and Sweden (−1.8 years). People with alcohol use disorder had higher mortality from all causes of death (mortality rate ratio, 3.0–5.2), all diseases and medical conditions (2.3–4.8), and suicide (9.3–35.9). Conclusion People hospitalized with alcohol use disorder have an average life expectancy of 47–53 years (men) and 50–58 years (women) and die 24–28 years earlier than people in the general population. PMID:25243359

Explanations of sleep paralysis among Egyptian college students and the general population in Egypt and Denmark.

PubMed

Jalal, Baland; Simons-Rudolph, Joseph; Jalal, Bamo; Hinton, Devon E

2014-04-01

This cross-cultural study compared explanations of sleep paralysis (SP) in two countries and two groups with different levels of education in one country. Comparisons were made between individuals having experienced SP at least once in a lifetime from Cairo, Egypt (n = 89), Copenhagen, Denmark (n = 59), and the American University in Cairo, Egypt (n = 44). As hypothesized, participants from the general Egyptian population were more likely to endorse supernatural causal explanation of their SP compared to participants from Denmark; participants from the American University in Cairo were less likely to endorse supernatural causes of their SP compared to participants from the general Egyptian population. Moreover, participants from the American University in Cairo were marginally significantly more likely to endorse supernatural causes of their SP compared to participants from Denmark. Additionally, we explored which culturally bound explanations and beliefs about SP existed in Egypt and Denmark. We found that nearly half (48%) of the participants from the general Egyptian population believed their SP to be caused by the Jinn, a spirit-like creature with roots in Islamic tradition, which constitutes a culturally bound interpretation of the phenomenology of SP in this region of the world. Case studies are presented to illustrate these findings.

Variability and validity of intimate partner violence reporting by couples in Tanzania

PubMed Central

Steven, Ester; Reich, Naomi; Badi, Lilian; Messersmith, Lisa

2018-01-01

In recent years, major global institutions have amplified their efforts to address intimate partner violence (IPV) against women—a global health and human rights violation affecting 15–71% of reproductive aged women over their lifetimes. Still, some scholars remain concerned about the validity of instruments used for IPV assessment in population-based studies. In this paper, we conducted two validation analyses using novel data from 450 women-men dyads across nine villages in Northern Tanzania. First, we examined the level of inter-partner agreement in reporting of men’s physical, sexual, emotional and economic IPV against women in the last three and twelve months prior to the survey, ever in the relationship, and during pregnancy. Second, we conducted a convergent validity analysis to compare the relative efficacy of men’s self-reports of perpetration and women’s of victimization as a valid indicator of IPV against Tanzanian women using logistic regression models with village-level clustered errors. We found that, for every violence type across the recall periods of the last three months, the last twelve months and ever in the relationship, at least one in three couples disagreed about IPV occurrences in the relationship. Couples’ agreement about physical, sexual and economic IPV during pregnancy was high with 86–93% of couples reporting concordantly. Also, men’s self-reported perpetration had statistically significant associations with at least as many validated risk factors as had women’s self-reported victimization. This finding suggests that men’s self-reports are at least as valid as women’s as an indicator of IPV against women in Northern Tanzania. We recommend more validation studies are conducted in low-income countries, and that data on relationship factors affecting IPV reports and reporting are made available along with data on IPV occurrences. Keywords: Intimate partner violence; measurement; validity; survey research; Tanzania. PMID:29518162

An international measure of awareness and beliefs about cancer: development and testing of the ABC

PubMed Central

Simon, Alice E; Forbes, Lindsay J L; Boniface, David; Warburton, Fiona; Brain, Kate E; Dessaix, Anita; Donnelly, Michael; Haynes, Kerry; Hvidberg, Line; Lagerlund, Magdalena; Petermann, Lisa; Tishelman, Carol; Vedsted, Peter; Vigmostad, Maria Nyre; Wardle, Jane; Ramirez, Amanda J

2012-01-01

Objectives To develop an internationally validated measure of cancer awareness and beliefs; the awareness and beliefs about cancer (ABC) measure. Design and setting Items modified from existing measures were assessed by a working group in six countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK). Validation studies were completed in the UK, and cross-sectional surveys of the general population were carried out in the six participating countries. Participants Testing in UK English included cognitive interviewing for face validity (N=10), calculation of content validity indexes (six assessors), and assessment of test–retest reliability (N=97). Conceptual and cultural equivalence of modified (Canadian and Australian) and translated (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Canadian French) ABC versions were tested quantitatively for equivalence of meaning (≥4 assessors per country) and in bilingual cognitive interviews (three interviews per translation). Response patterns were assessed in surveys of adults aged 50+ years (N≥2000) in each country. Main outcomes Psychometric properties were evaluated through tests of validity and reliability, conceptual and cultural equivalence and systematic item analysis. Test–retest reliability used weighted-κ and intraclass correlations. Construction and validation of aggregate scores was by factor analysis for (1) beliefs about cancer outcomes, (2) beliefs about barriers to symptomatic presentation, and item summation for (3) awareness of cancer symptoms and (4) awareness of cancer risk factors. Results The English ABC had acceptable test–retest reliability and content validity. International assessments of equivalence identified a small number of items where wording needed adjustment. Survey response patterns showed that items performed well in terms of difficulty and discrimination across countries except for awareness of cancer outcomes in Australia. Aggregate scores had consistent factor structures across countries. Conclusions The ABC is a reliable and valid international measure of cancer awareness and beliefs. The methods used to validate and harmonise the ABC may serve as a methodological guide in international survey research. PMID:23253874

SLiMSearch 2.0: biological context for short linear motifs in proteins

PubMed Central

Davey, Norman E.; Haslam, Niall J.; Shields, Denis C.

2011-01-01

Short, linear motifs (SLiMs) play a critical role in many biological processes. The SLiMSearch 2.0 (Short, Linear Motif Search) web server allows researchers to identify occurrences of a user-defined SLiM in a proteome, using conservation and protein disorder context statistics to rank occurrences. User-friendly output and visualizations of motif context allow the user to quickly gain insight into the validity of a putatively functional motif occurrence. For each motif occurrence, overlapping UniProt features and annotated SLiMs are displayed. Visualization also includes annotated multiple sequence alignments surrounding each occurrence, showing conservation and protein disorder statistics in addition to known and predicted SLiMs, protein domains and known post-translational modifications. In addition, enrichment of Gene Ontology terms and protein interaction partners are provided as indicators of possible motif function. All web server results are available for download. Users can search motifs against the human proteome or a subset thereof defined by Uniprot accession numbers or GO term. The SLiMSearch server is available at: http://bioware.ucd.ie/slimsearch2.html. PMID:21622654

Educational Governance in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moos, Lejf

2014-01-01

Denmark has entered global competition by expanding collaboration with European countries, which is profoundly impacting the public sector and school governance. Relations between the state and institutions are transforming from traditional democratic, public-sector models of governance into new forms characterized as corporate and market-driven…

Trends and differences in tuberculosis incidences and clustering among natives in Denmark, Sweden and Finland: comparison of native incidences and molecular epidemiology among three low-incidence countries.

PubMed

Pedersen, M K; Lillebaek, T; Andersen, A B; Soini, H; Haanperä, M; Groenheit, R; Jonsson, J; Svensson, E

2018-07-01

To compare the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, by focusing on the native population in order to identify epidemiologic differences and thus indirectly possible differences in TB control. TB incidence trends from 1990 through 2015 were compared among the countries. In addition, for the periods 2012-2013 and 2014-2015, genotyping data were compared. Genotyping was performed using the 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) method in Denmark and Sweden. For Finland, spoligotyping in conjunction with the 15-locus MIRU-VNTR method was used for 2012-2013 and translated into the 24-locus MIRU-VNTR when feasible, and for 2014-2015 only MIRU-VNTR was used. Both incidence trends and molecular epidemiology were assessed for native cases. The average annual rate of change in TB incidence for native Danes was -2.4% vs. -6.1% and -6.9% for native Swedes and Finns respectively. In 2012-2013 Denmark had 52 native cases in the largest transmission chain vs. three cases in Sweden and ten in Finland, and during the same period the clustering rate for native Danes was 48.8% vs. 6.5% and 18.2% for native Swedes and Finns respectively. For 2014-2015, a similar pattern was seen. The decline of TB among natives in Denmark is slower than for Sweden and Finland, and it seems Denmark has more active transmission among natives. The focused assessment on basic native TB epidemiology reveals striking differences in TB transmission among otherwise similar low-TB-incidence countries. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of urinary incontinence among women and analysis of potential risk factors in Germany and Denmark.

PubMed

Schreiber Pedersen, Louise; Lose, Gunnar; Høybye, Mette Terp; Elsner, Susanne; Waldmann, Annika; Rudnicki, Martin

2017-08-01

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a prevalent condition that interferes with women's health-related quality of life. Prevalence rates from earlier studies are wide-ranging, due to heterogeneity in methodology, definition of UI and the populations included. We aimed to determine the prevalence of UI and associated risk factors in Germany and Denmark using the same methodology, definition and population. A postal survey was conducted in two regions in Germany and Denmark, including 8000 women aged 18+ years. UI was defined as any complaint of involuntary loss of urine. The questionnaire contained socio-demographic questions and the International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). The response rate in Germany and Denmark was 46.2 and 66.6% (p < 0.001) and the prevalence rate of UI was 48.3 and 46.4% (p = 0.188), respectively. Stress urinary incontinence dominated among younger women, and urgency urinary incontinence and mixed urinary incontinence among women 80+ years in Germany and Denmark, respectively. The subgroup of women with body mass index (BMI) ≥35 had the highest prevalence of UI (67.3%). The subgroup of women with BMI <35 were more likely to have stress urinary incontinence, and the subgroup of women with BMI ≥35 were more likely to have mixed urinary incontinence. UI was significantly associated with age as with BMI, vaginal delivery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and having at least one co-morbidity. Prevalence rates in the two regions in Germany and Denmark were similar, despite significantly different response rates. This difference may reflect various attitudes towards answering a questionnaire, but the response rate on questions concerning UI seemed consistent. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Contraceptive use in the Nordic countries.

PubMed

Lindh, Ingela; Skjeldestad, Finn E; Gemzell-Danielsson, Kristina; Heikinheimo, Oskari; Hognert, Helena; Milsom, Ian; Lidegaard, Øjvind

2017-01-01

The aim was to compare contraceptive use in the Nordic countries and to assess compliance with recommendations from the European Medicines Agency regarding the use of combined oral contraception containing low-dose estrogen and levonorgestrel, norethisterone or norgestimate. Data on hormonal contraceptive prescriptions and sales figures for copper intrauterine devices were obtained from national databases and manufacturers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 2010-2013. Contraceptive use was highest in Denmark (42%) and Sweden (41%), followed by Finland (40%). Combined oral contraception was the most used method in all countries, with the highest use in Denmark (26%). The second most used method was the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system, with the highest use in Finland (15%) and ≈10% in the other countries. Copper intrauterine devices (7%) and the progestin-only pill (7%) were most often used in Sweden. Combined oral contraception use decreased with increasing age and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system and progestin-only pills use increased. The use of long-acting reversible methods of contraception (=levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system, copper intrauterine devices, and implants) increased with time and was highest in Sweden (20%) and Finland (18%). The highest use of European Medicines Agency recommended combined oral contraception was in Denmark, increasing from 13 to 50% between 2010 and 2013. In Finland, recommended combined oral contraception remained below 1%. Contraceptive use was highest in Denmark and Sweden, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system use was highest in Finland and all long-acting methods were most common in Sweden. The use of combined oral contraception recommended by the European Medicines Agency was highest in Denmark. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Patterns of finasteride use in the male populations of four Nordic countries: A cross-national drug utilization study.

PubMed

Kjærulff, T M; Ersbøll, A K; Green, A; Emneus, M; Pukkala, E; Bolin, K; Stavem, K; Iversen, P; Brasso, K; Hallas, J; Thygesen, L C

2016-06-01

Objective Finasteride 5 mg is a drug used to treat prostate hyperplasia. Little is known about its pattern of usage. This cross-national analysis of individual-level data from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was undertaken to appraise its usage and describe cross-national differences. Materials and methods Individual-level data from nationwide prescription registers in Denmark (1995-2009), Finland (1997-2010), Norway (2004-2009) and Sweden (July 2005-2011) were used to examine cross-national finasteride utilization patterns in the adult male population (≥15 years). The study presents period prevalences, incidence rates, waiting time distributions and Lorenz curves. Results During the study period, 295,620 men had at least one prescription redemption of finasteride 5 mg, and there were approximately 3 million dispensing events of finasteride prescriptions in the four Nordic countries. Different patterns of finasteride use were observed among the four Nordic countries. The period prevalence was markedly higher in Finland and Sweden than in Denmark and Norway. In 2009, period prevalences were 18.2/1000 males in Finland and 12.0/1000 males in Sweden compared to 6.7/1000 males in Norway and 4.9/1000 males in Denmark. Incidence rates of finasteride use for Finland, Norway and Sweden were about three times that for Denmark in 2008-2009. Long-term use of finasteride was found in all four Nordic countries with a high ratio between prevalent and incident users. Conclusion Despite resemblances regarding political systems and healthcare services in the Nordic countries, differences in finasteride utilization were found across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Maternal mortality in Denmark, 1985-1994.

PubMed

Andersen, Betina Ristorp; Westergaard, Hanne Brix; Bødker, Birgit; Weber, Tom; Møller, Margrete; Sørensen, Jette Led

2009-02-01

In Denmark, maternal mortality has been reported over the last century, both locally through hospital reports and in national registries. The purpose of this study was to analyze data from national medical registries of pregnancy-related deaths in Denmark 1985-1994 and to classify them according to the UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD). All deaths of women with a registered pregnancy within 12 months prior to the death were identified by comparing the Danish medical registries, death certificates, and relevant codes according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). All cases were classified using the UK CEMD classification. Cases of maternal death were further evaluated by an audit group. 311 cases were classified. 92 deaths (29.6%) occurred 42 days), 1 woman died from a direct obstetric cause, 46 from indirect causes, and 172 from fortuitous causes. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were the major cause of direct maternal deaths. The rate of maternal deaths constituted 9.8/100,000 maternities (i.e. the number of women delivering registrable live births at any gestation or stillbirths at 24 weeks of gestation or later). This is the first systematic report on deaths in Denmark based on data from national registries. The maternal mortality rate in Denmark is comparable to the rates in other developed countries. Fortunately, statistics are low, but each case represents potential learning. Obstetric care has changed and classification methods differ between countries. Prospective registration and registry linkage seem to be a way to ensure completion. This retrospective study has provided the background for a prospective study on registration and evaluation of maternal mortality in Denmark.

The development and validation of a job crafting measure for use with blue-collar workers

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Karina; Abildgaard, Johan Simonsen

2012-01-01

Job crafting describes a set of proactive behaviours in which employees may engage to shape their work in order to minimize hindering job demands and maximize resources and challenging demands. Such behaviours may be particularly important among blue-collar workers whose jobs are characterized by poor working conditions and low well-being. We present the development and adaptation of a job crafting measure that may be used among blue-collar workers, based on an existing scale by Tims, Bakker, and Derks (2012) that was not specifically developed for blue-collar workers. We test the validity and reliability of the measure in a longitudinal study based on multiple source information from mail delivery workers in Denmark (N = 362 at Time 1; N = 408 at Time 2). Results indicate the presence of five job crafting dimensions: increasing challenging demands, decreasing social job demands, increasing social job resources, increasing quantitative demands and decreasing hindering job demands. These can be reliably measured with 15 items. The measure shows acceptable discriminant and criterion validity, and test-retest reliability. The findings extend the application of the original questionnaire. They also add to knowledge of the job crafting behaviours in which blue-collar workers engage and link them to well-being outcomes. PMID:23236220

Teenage Drunkenness; Warning Signal, Transient Boisterousness, or Symptom of Social Change?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Peter

1979-01-01

Several current views on the origins and meaning of adolescent intoxication are reviewed and the validity and utility of each perspective discussed. It is concluded that each occurrence of teenage drunkenness should be analyzed individually. (SJL)

Vocational Education and Training in Denmark. Short Description

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2012

2012-01-01

Vocational education and training in Denmark has embarked on a process of modernisation aiming at, primarily, increasing flexibility, and individualisation, quality and efficiency. Assessment and recognition of informal and non-formal learning, competence-based curricula, innovative approaches to teaching, and increased possibilities for partial…

26 CFR 521.116 - Reciprocal administrative assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Department of the Ministry of Finance (Generaldirektoren for Skattevaesenet) of Denmark. (b) Information to... transmit to the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, as soon as..., royalties, salaries, wages, pensions, annuities and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical profits...

26 CFR 521.116 - Reciprocal administrative assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Department of the Ministry of Finance (Generaldirektoren for Skattevaesenet) of Denmark. (b) Information to... transmit to the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, as soon as..., royalties, salaries, wages, pensions, annuities and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical profits...

26 CFR 521.116 - Reciprocal administrative assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Department of the Ministry of Finance (Generaldirektoren for Skattevaesenet) of Denmark. (b) Information to... transmit to the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, as soon as..., royalties, salaries, wages, pensions, annuities and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical profits...

26 CFR 521.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Definitions. 521.104 Section 521.104 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish...

26 CFR 521.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2011-04-01 2010-04-01 true Definitions. 521.104 Section 521.104 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish...

Study protocol: Rehabilitation including Social and Physical activity and Education in Children and Teenagers with Cancer (RESPECT).

PubMed

Thorsteinsson, Troels; Helms, Anne Sofie; Adamsen, Lis; Andersen, Lars Bo; Andersen, Karen Vitting; Christensen, Karl Bang; Hasle, Henrik; Heilmann, Carsten; Hejgaard, Nete; Johansen, Christoffer; Madsen, Marianne; Madsen, Svend Aage; Simovska, Venka; Strange, Birgit; Thing, Lone Friis; Wehner, Peder Skov; Schmiegelow, Kjeld; Larsen, Hanne Baekgaard

2013-11-14

During cancer treatment children have reduced contact with their social network of friends, and have limited participation in education, sports, and leisure activities. During and following cancer treatment, children describe school related problems, reduced physical fitness, and problems related to interaction with peers. The RESPECT study is a nationwide population-based prospective, controlled, mixed-methods intervention study looking at children aged 6-18 years newly diagnosed with cancer in eastern Denmark (n=120) and a matched control group in western Denmark (n=120). RESPECT includes Danish-speaking children diagnosed with cancer and treated at pediatric oncology units in Denmark. Primary endpoints are the level of educational achievement one year after the cessation of first-line cancer therapy, and the value of VO2max one year after the cessation of first-line cancer therapy. Secondary endpoints are quality of life measured by validated questionnaires and interviews, and physical performance. RESPECT includes a multimodal intervention program, including ambassador-facilitated educational, physical, and social interventions. The educational intervention includes an educational program aimed at the child with cancer, the child's schoolteachers and classmates, and the child's parents. Children with cancer will each have two ambassadors assigned from their class. The ambassadors visit the child with cancer at the hospital at alternating 2-week intervals and participate in the intervention program. The physical and social intervention examines the effect of early, structured, individualized, and continuous physical activity from diagnosis throughout the treatment period. The patients are tested at diagnosis, at 3 and 6 months after diagnosis, and one year after the cessation of treatment. The study is powered to quantify the impact of the combined educational, physical, and social intervention programs. RESPECT is the first population-based study to examine the effect of early rehabilitation for children with cancer, and to use healthy classmates as ambassadors to facilitate the normalization of social life in the hospital. For children with cancer, RESPECT contributes to expanding knowledge on rehabilitation that can also facilitate rehabilitation of other children undergoing hospitalization for long-term illness. Clinical Trials.gov: file. NCT01772849 and NCT01772862.

Clinical and analytical evaluation of the new Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay, with data on M. genitalium prevalence and antimicrobial resistance in M. genitalium in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in 2016.

PubMed

Unemo, M; Salado-Rasmussen, K; Hansen, M; Olsen, A O; Falk, M; Golparian, D; Aasterød, M; Ringlander, J; Nilsson, C Stezckó; Sundqvist, M; Schønning, K; Moi, H; Westh, H; Jensen, J S

2018-05-01

Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) causes urethritis and cervicitis, potentially causing reproductive complications. Resistance in MG to first-line (azithromycin) and second-line (moxifloxacin) treatment has increased. We examined the clinical and analytical performance of the new Conformité Européene (CE)/in vitro diagnostics (IVD) Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay (CE/IVD AMG; Hologic); the prevalence of MG, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG); and MG resistance to azithromycin and moxifloxacin in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in 2016. From February 2016 to February 2017, urogenital and extragenital (only in Denmark) specimens from consecutive attendees at three sexually transmitted disease clinics were tested with the CE/IVD AMG, the research-use-only MG Alt TMA-1 assay (Hologic), Aptima Combo 2 (CT/NG) assay and a laboratory-developed TaqMan real-time mgpB quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Resistance-associated mutations were determined by sequencing. Strains of MG and other mycoplasma species in different concentrations were also tested. In total 5269 patients were included. The prevalence of MG was 7.2% (382/5269; 4.9-9.8% in the countries). The sensitivity of the CE/IVD AMG, MG Alt TMA-1 and mgpB qPCR ranged 99.13-100%, 99.13-100% and 73.24-81.60%, respectively, in the countries. The specificity ranged 99.57-99.96%, 100% and 99.69-100%, respectively. The prevalence of resistance-associated mutations for azithromycin and moxifloxacin was 41.4% (120/290; 17.7-56.6%) and 6.6% (18/274; 4.1-10.2%), respectively. Multidrug resistance was found in all countries (2.7%; 1.1-4.2%). Both transcription-mediated amplification (TMA)-based MG assays had a highly superior sensitivity compared to the mgpB qPCR. The prevalence of MG and azithromycin resistance was high. Validated and quality-assured molecular tests for MG, routine resistance testing of MG-positive samples and antimicrobial resistance surveillance are crucial. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Differences in survival on chronic dialysis treatment between ethnic groups in Denmark: a population-wide, national cohort study.

PubMed

van den Beukel, Tessa O; Hommel, Kristine; Kamper, Anne-Lise; Heaf, James G; Siegert, Carl E H; Honig, Adriaan; Jager, Kitty J; Dekker, Friedo W; Norredam, Marie

2016-07-01

In Western countries, black and Asian dialysis patients experience better survival compared with white patients. The aim of this study is to compare the survival of native Danish dialysis patients with that of dialysis patients originating from other countries and to explore the association between the duration of residence in Denmark before the start of dialysis and the mortality on dialysis. We performed a population-wide national cohort study of incident chronic dialysis patients in Denmark (≥18 years old) who started dialysis between 1995 and 2010. In total, 8459 patients were native Danes, 344 originated from other Western countries, 79 from North Africa or West Asia, 173 from South or South-East Asia and 54 from sub-Saharan Africa. Native Danes were more likely to die on dialysis compared with the other groups (crude incidence rates for mortality: 234, 166, 96, 110 and 53 per 1000 person-years, respectively). Native Danes had greater hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality compared with the other groups {HRs for mortality adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics: 1.32 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.54]; 2.22 [95% CI 1.51-3.23]; 1.79 [95% CI 1.41-2.27]; 2.00 [95% CI 1.10-3.57], respectively}. Compared with native Danes, adjusted HRs for mortality for Western immigrants living in Denmark for ≤10 years, >10 to ≤20 years and >20 years were 0.44 (95% CI 0.27-0.71), 0.56 (95% CI 0.39-0.82) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.70-1.04), respectively. For non-Western immigrants, these HRs were 0.42 (95% CI 0.27-0.67), 0.52 (95% CI 0.33-0.80) and 0.48 (95% CI 0.35-0.66), respectively. Incident chronic dialysis patients in Denmark originating from countries other than Denmark have a better survival compared with native Danes. For Western immigrants, this survival benefit declines among those who have lived in Denmark longer. For non-Western immigrants, the survival benefit largely remains over time. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Smallpox and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccination on the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection in Guinea-Bissau and Denmark

PubMed Central

Villumsen, Marie; Jensen, Mette Lundsby; Ravn, Henrik; da Silva, Zacarias J; Sørup, Signe; Baker, Jennifer Lyn; Rodrigues, Amabélia; Benn, Christine Stabell; Roth, Adam E; Aaby, Peter

2017-01-01

Abstract Background The live smallpox and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinations have been associated with better adult survival in both Guinea-Bissau and Denmark. In Guinea-Bissau, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 became an important cause of death after smallpox vaccination was phased out globally in 1980. We hypothesised that smallpox and BCG vaccinations were associated with a lower prevalence of HIV-1 infection, and we tested this hypothesis in both Guinea-Bissau and Denmark. Methods We conducted 2 studies: (1) a cross-sectional study of HIV infection and vaccination scars in Guinea-Bissau including 1751 individuals and (2) a case-base study with a background population of 46239 individuals in Denmark. In Guinea-Bissau, HIV-1 transmission was almost exclusively sexually transmitted. In Denmark, we excluded intravenous drug users. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Results Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and/or smallpox vaccination compared with neither of these vaccines was associated with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for HIV-1 of 0.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–1.07) in Guinea-Bissau and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.43–1.15) in Denmark. We combined the results from both settings in a meta-analysis (aOR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.46–0.96). Data from Guinea-Bissau indicated a stronger effect of multiple smallpox vaccination scars (aOR = 0.27; 95% CI, 0.10–0.75) as follows: women, aOR = 0.18 (95% CI, 0.05–0.64); men, aOR = 0.52 (95% CI, 0.12–2.33); sex-differential effect, P = .29. Conclusions The studies from Guinea-Bissau and Denmark, 2 very different settings, both suggest that the BCG and smallpox vaccines could be associated with a decreased risk of sexually transmitted HIV-1. It might be informative to pursue this observation and explore possible protective mechanisms as part of the search for an HIV-1 vaccine. PMID:28852677

Evaluation of the high resolution DEHM/UBM model system over Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, Ulas; Christensen, Jesper H.; Ellermann, Thomas; Ketzel, Matthias; Geels, Camilla; Hansen, Kaj M.; Plejdrup, Marlene S.; Brandt, Jørgen

2015-04-01

The air pollutant levels over Denmark are simulated using the high resolution DEHM/UBM model system for the years 2006 to 2014. The system employs a hemispheric chemistry-transport model, the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM; Brandt et al., 2012) that runs on a 150 km x 150 km resolution over the Northern Hemisphere, with nesting capability for higher resolutions over Europe, Northern Europe and Denmark on 50 km x 50 km, 16.7 km x 16.7 km and 5.6 km x 5.6 km resolutions, respectively, coupled to the Urban Background Model (UBM; Berkowicz, 2000; Brandt et al., 2001) that covers the whole of Denmark with a 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution. Over Denmark, the system uses the SPREAD emission model (Plejdrup and Gyldenkærne, 2011) that distributes the Danish emissions for all pollutants and all sectors in the national emission database on a 1 km x 1 km resolution grid covering Denmark and its national sea territory. The study will describe the model system and we will evaluate the performance of the model system in simulating hourly and daily ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations against surface measurements from eight monitoring stations. Finally we investigate the spatial variation of air pollutants over Denmark on different time scales. References Berkowicz, R., 2000. A Simple Model for Urban Background Pollution. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 65, 1/2, 259-267. Brandt, J., J. H. Christensen, L. M. Frohn, F. Palmgren, R. Berkowicz and Z. Zlatev, 2001: "Operational air pollution forecasts from European to local scale". Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 35, Sup. No. 1, pp. S91-S98, 2001 Brandt et al., 2012. An integrated model study for Europe and North America using the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model with focus on intercontinental transport. Atmospheric Environment, 53, 156-176. Plejdrup, M.S., Gyldenkærne, S., 2011. Spatial distribution of pollutants to air - the SPREAD model. NERI Technical Report No. 823.

Alcohol-attributed disease burden in four Nordic countries: a comparison using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors 2013 study.

PubMed

Agardh, Emilie E; Danielsson, Anna-Karin; Ramstedt, Mats; Ledgaard Holm, Astrid; Diderichsen, Finn; Juel, Knud; Vollset, Stein Emil; Knudsen, Ann Kristin; Minet Kinge, Jonas; White, Richard; Skirbekk, Vegard; Mäkelä, Pia; Forouzanfar, Mohammad Hossein; Coates, Matthew M; Casey, Daniel C; Naghavi, Mohesen; Allebeck, Peter

2016-10-01

(1) To compare alcohol-attributed disease burden in four Nordic countries 1990-2013, by overall disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and separated by premature mortality [years of life lost (YLL)] and health loss to non-fatal conditions [years lived with disability (YLD)]; (2) to examine whether changes in alcohol consumption informs alcohol-attributed disease burden; and (3) to compare the distribution of disease burden separated by causes. A comparative risk assessment approach. Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Male and female populations of each country. Age-standardized DALYs, YLLs and YLDs per 100 000 with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). In Finland, with the highest burden over the study period, overall alcohol-attributed DALYs were 1616 per 100 000 in 2013, while in Norway, with the lowest burden, corresponding estimates were 634. DALYs in Denmark were 1246 and in Sweden 788. In Denmark and Finland, changes in consumption generally corresponded to changes in disease burden, but not to the same extent in Sweden and Norway. All countries had a similar disease pattern and the majority of DALYs were due to YLLs (62-76%), mainly from alcohol use disorder, cirrhosis, transport injuries, self-harm and violence. YLDs from alcohol use disorder accounted for 41% and 49% of DALYs in Denmark and Finland compared to 63 and 64% in Norway and Sweden 2013, respectively. Finland and Denmark has a higher alcohol-attributed disease burden than Sweden and Norway in the period 1990-2013. Changes in consumption levels in general corresponded to changes in harm in Finland and Denmark, but not in Sweden and Norway for some years. All countries followed a similar pattern. The majority of disability-adjusted life years were due to premature mortality. Alcohol use disorder by non-fatal conditions accounted for a higher proportion of disability-adjusted life years in Norway and Sweden, compared with Finland and Denmark. © 2016 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

Assessing peristomal skin changes in ostomy patients: validation of the Ostomy Skin Tool.

PubMed

Jemec, G B; Martins, L; Claessens, I; Ayello, E A; Hansen, A S; Poulsen, L H; Sibbald, R G

2011-02-01

Peristomal skin problems are common and are treated by a variety of health professionals. Clear and consistent communication among these professionals is therefore particularly important. The Ostomy Skin Tool (OST) is a new assessment instrument for the extent and severity of peristomal skin conditions. Formal tests of reliability and validity are necessary for its use in clinical practice, research, and education. To estimate inter- and intra nurse assessment variability of the OST and validity by comparison to a 'gold standard' (GS) defined by an expert panel. Thirty photographs of peristomal skin were presented twice to 20 ostomy care nurses--10 from Denmark (DK) and 10 from Spain (ES)--to determine intra- and inter nurse assessment variability. The same photographs were presented to an international group of experts (dermatologist and ostomy care nurses), to establish a GS for comparison and validation of the results. A high intra-nurse assessment agreement, κ=0·84, was found with no differences in the intra-nurse assessments from the two groups of nurses (DK and ES). The inter-nurse assessment agreement was 'moderate to good', κ=0·54, with the agreement between the experts higher, κ=0·70. A high correlation between the scores from the nurses and the GS were seen in the lower part of the two scales [Discoloration, Erosion, Tissue overgrowth (DET) score<7)]. The study supported the validity of the OST. It is suggested that a categorical scale can be used to illustrate the severity of the DET scores. © 2011 The Authors. BJD © 2011 British Association of Dermatologists.

Incidence Rates of Deliberate Self-Harm in Denmark 1994–2011

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Abstract. Background: The validity and reliability of suicide statistics have been questioned and few nationwide studies of deliberate self-harm have been presented. Aim: To calculate rates of deliberate self-harm in Denmark in order to investigate trends and assess the reliability of hospital records. Method: A register study based on all individuals recorded with an episode of deliberate self-harm or probable deliberate self-harm in nationwide registers during 1994–2011. Results: A substantial difference in the rates of deliberate self-harm and probable deliberate self-harm was noted for both genders. The average incidence rate of deliberate self-harm for women and men was 130.7 (95% CI = 129.6–131.8) per 100,000 and 86.9 (95% CI = 86.0–87.8) per 100,000, respectively. The rates of deliberate self-harm for women increased from 137.6 (95% CI = 132.9–142.3) per 100,000 in 1994 to 152.7 (95% CI = 147.8–157.5) in 2011. For a subgroup of younger women aged 15–24 years, an almost threefold increase was observed, IRR = 2.5 (95% CI = 2.4–2.7). The most frequently used method was self-poisoning. Conclusion: The rates of deliberate self-harm and probable deliberate self-harm differed significantly. An increased incidence of deliberate self-harm among young Danish women was observed, despite detection bias. An improved registration procedure of suicidal behavior is needed. PMID:27278571

The Scandinavian Fantasy: The Sources of Intergenerational Mobility in Denmark and the US

PubMed Central

Landersø, Rasmus; Heckman, James J.

2017-01-01

This paper examines the sources of differences in social mobility between the U.S. and Denmark. Measured by income mobility, Denmark is a more mobile society, but not when measured by educational mobility. There are pronounced nonlinearities in income and educational mobility in both countries. Greater Danish income mobility is largely a consequence of redistributional tax, transfer, and wage compression policies. While Danish social policies for children produce more favorable cognitive test scores for disadvantaged children, these do not translate into more favorable educational outcomes, partly because of disincentives to acquire education arising from the redistributional policies that increase income mobility. PMID:28649168

The willingness to pay for wait reduction: the disutility of queues for cataract surgery in Canada, Denmark, and Spain.

PubMed

Bishai, D M; Lang, H C

2000-03-01

We estimate demand curves for a one month reduction in waiting time for cataract surgery based on survey data collected in 1992 in Manitoba, Barcelona, and Denmark. Patients answered, "Would you be willing to pay [Bid, B] to reduce your waiting time for cataract surgery to less than one month?" Controlling for SES and visual status, Barcelonan patients have greater WTP for shortened waiting time than the Danes and Manitobans. We estimate the value (in 1992 $) of lost consumer surplus due to the cataract surgery queue at $128 per patient in Manitoba, $160 in Denmark, and $243 in Barcelona.

Nomogram for individualized prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence in hepatitis C virus cirrhosis (ANRS CO12 CirVir).

PubMed

Ganne-Carrié, Nathalie; Layese, Richard; Bourcier, Valérie; Cagnot, Carole; Marcellin, Patrick; Guyader, Dominique; Pol, Stanislas; Larrey, Dominique; de Lédinghen, Victor; Ouzan, Denis; Zoulim, Fabien; Roulot, Dominique; Tran, Albert; Bronowicki, Jean-Pierre; Zarski, Jean-Pierre; Riachi, Ghassan; Calès, Paul; Péron, Jean-Marie; Alric, Laurent; Bourlière, Marc; Mathurin, Philippe; Blanc, Jean-Frédéric; Abergel, Armand; Serfaty, Lawrence; Mallat, Ariane; Grangé, Jean-Didier; Attali, Pierre; Bacq, Yannick; Wartelle, Claire; Dao, Thông; Benhamou, Yves; Pilette, Christophe; Silvain, Christine; Christidis, Christos; Capron, Dominique; Bernard-Chabert, Brigitte; Zucman, David; Di Martino, Vincent; Trinchet, Jean-Claude; Nahon, Pierre; Roudot-Thoraval, Françoise

2016-10-01

The aim of this work was to develop an individualized score for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C (HCV)-compensated cirrhosis. Among 1,323 patients with HCV cirrhosis enrolled in the French prospective ANRS CO12 CirVir cohort, 720 and 360 were randomly assigned to training and validation sets, respectively. Cox's multivariate model was used to predict HCC, after which a nomogram was computed to assess individualized risk. During follow-up (median, 51.0 months), 103 and 39 patients developed HCC in the training and validation sets, respectively. Five variables were independently associated with occurrence of HCC: age > 50 years (hazard ratio [HR], 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16; 3.25; P = 0.012); past excessive alcohol intake (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02; 2.36; P = 0.041); low platelet count (<100 Giga/mm(3) : HR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.62; 4.51; P < 0.001; [100; 150] Giga/mm(3) : HR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.10; 3.18; P = 0.021); gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase above the upper limit of normal (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.11; 3.47; P = 0.021); and absence of a sustained virological response during follow-up (HR, 3.02; 95% CI, 1.67; 5.48; P < 0.001). An 11-point risk score was derived from the training cohort and validated in the validation set. Based on this score, the population was stratified into three groups, in which HCC development gradually increased, from 0% to 30.1% at 5 years for patients with the lowest (≤3) and highest (≥8) scores (P < 0.001). Using this score, a nomogram was built enabling individualized prediction of HCC occurrence at 1, 3, and 5 years. This HCC score can accurately predict HCC at an individual level in French patients with HCV cirrhosis. (Hepatology 2016;64:1136-1147). © 2016 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Spotlight on VET Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2012

2012-01-01

This paper presents data on the vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark. VET plays a key role in the Danish strategy for lifelong learning and meeting the challenges of globalisation and technological change. The Danish education and training system comprises a mainstream system providing qualifications at all levels, from compulsory…

Education Policy Outlook: Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pont, Beatriz; Figueroa, Diana Toledo; Albiser, Etienne; Yee, Hyo Jeong; Skalde, Annette; Zapata, Juliana; Fraccola, Sylvain

2014-01-01

This policy profile on education in Denmark is part of the new Education Policy Outlook series, which will present comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge base available within the OECD, the series will result in a biennial publication…

26 CFR 521.116 - Reciprocal administrative assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents... be transmitted directly by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to the Chief of the Taxation... transmit to the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, as soon as...

26 CFR 521.116 - Reciprocal administrative assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents... be transmitted directly by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to the Chief of the Taxation... transmit to the Chief of the Taxation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, as soon as...

Autopsy rate in suicide is low among elderly in Denmark compared with Finland.

PubMed

Ylijoki-Sørensen, Seija; Boldsen, Jesper Lier; Boel, Lene Warner Thorup; Bøggild, Henrik; Lalu, Kaisa; Sajantila, Antti

2014-11-01

National differences in the legislation on cause and manner of death investigation are reflected in a high autopsy rate in suicides in Finland and a low corresponding rate in Denmark. The consequences for mortality statistics of these different investigation practices on deaths classified as suicides in Denmark and Finland, respectively, are not known in detail. The aim of this article was to analyse autopsy rates in deaths classified as suicides, and to identify any differences in investigation practices in deaths with a comparable cause of death, but classified as unnatural deaths other than suicide. Data from the mortality registries were summarised for the years 2000, 2005 and 2010. Autopsy rates (total, forensic and medical) were analysed with regard to deaths classified as suicide, and they were compared for three age groups (1-50 years, 51-70 years and ≥71 years) and for causes of death. Deaths classified as suicide were compared with other unnatural classifications, and comparable causes of death were coded into six subgroups: poisonings, suffocations/strangulations, firearm discharges, drowning/submersions, explosions/flames and other/unspecified causes. The total autopsy rate for suicides was 99.8% in Finland and 13.2% in Denmark. Almost all of these autopsies were conducted as forensic autopsies. In the age group ≥71 years, Danish suicides outnumbered Finnish suicides (410 versus 283). The total autopsy rate was lower in the more senior age group in Denmark (19.5%, 9.9%, 5.6%), whereas it was consistently high in Finland (99.8%, 99.9%, 99.6%). Among Danish deaths due to poisonings, the autopsy rate was 89.5% when these were classified as accidents, but only 20.7% for cases classified as suicides. The number of deaths in the two Danish subgroups was comparable (550 versus 553). In Denmark, the decision regarding the need, if any, for a forensic autopsy is made during the external forensic examination of the body. Our study showed that the limited use of forensic autopsy to confirm the cause of death in deaths classified as suicides raises doubts about the accuracy of the Danish suicide mortality statistics. Our finding is emphasised by those cases in which the cause of death was registered as intentional self-poisoning. The high number of suicides among the elderly in Denmark is striking and begs further investigation and research. Overall, our data from Finland and Denmark reveal striking differences between the two countries and warrant further comparative studies on the subject in other countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CNS infections in Greenland: A nationwide register-based cohort study

PubMed Central

Nordholm, Anne Christine; Søborg, Bolette; Andersson, Mikael; Hoffmann, Steen; Skinhøj, Peter; Koch, Anders

2017-01-01

Background Indigenous Arctic people suffer from high rates of infectious diseases. However, the burden of central nervous system (CNS) infections is poorly documented. This study aimed to estimate incidence rates and mortality of CNS infections among Inuits and non-Inuits in Greenland and in Denmark. Methods We conducted a nationwide cohort study using the populations of Greenland and Denmark 1990–2012. Information on CNS infection hospitalizations and pathogens was retrieved from national registries and laboratories. Incidence rates were estimated as cases per 100,000 person-years. Incidence rate ratios were calculated using log-linear Poisson-regression. Mortality was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Log Rank test. Results The incidence rate of CNS infections was twice as high in Greenland (35.6 per 100,000 person years) as in Denmark (17.7 per 100,000 person years), but equally high among Inuits in Greenland and Denmark (38.2 and 35.4, respectively). Mortality from CNS infections was 2 fold higher among Inuits (10.5%) than among non-Inuits (4.8%) with a fivefold higher case fatality rate in Inuit toddlers. Conclusion Overall, Inuits living in Greenland and Denmark suffer from twice the rate of CNS infections compared with non-Inuits, and Inuit toddlers carried the highest risk of mortality. Further studies regarding risk factors such as genetic susceptibility, life style and socioeconomic factors are warranted. PMID:28158207

On the Formation of Emotions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montada, Leo

1989-01-01

Asserts that emotions are based on cognitive appraisals of occurrences. Argues that cognitive models have heuristic value for research and practice and examines objections concerning the validity of those models. Discusses the usefulness of these models for several educational and developmental goals. (KO)

Post-thrombotic syndrome in children: a systematic review of frequency of occurrence, validity of outcome measures, and prognostic factors

PubMed Central

Goldenberg, Neil A.; Donadini, Marco P.; Kahn, Susan R.; Crowther, Mark; Kenet, Gili; Nowak-Göttl, Ulrike; Manco-Johnson, Marilyn J.

2010-01-01

Background Post-thrombotic syndrome is a manifestation of chronic venous insufficiency following deep venous thrombosis. This systematic review was conducted to critically evaluate pediatric evidence on frequency of occurrence, validity of outcome measures, and prognostic indicators of post-thrombotic syndrome. Design and Methods A comprehensive literature search of original reports revealed 19 eligible studies, totaling 977 patients with upper/lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. Calculated weighted mean frequency of post-thrombotic syndrome was 26% (95% confidence interval: 23–28%) overall, and differed significantly by prospective/non-prospective analysis and use/non-use of a standardized outcome measure. Results Standardized post-thrombotic syndrome outcome measures included an adaptation of the Villalta scale, the Clinical-Etiologic-Anatomic-Pathologic classification, and the Manco-Johnson instrument. Data on validity were reported only for the Manco-Johnson instrument. No publications on post-thrombotic syndrome-related quality of life outcomes were identified. Candidate prognostic factors for post-thrombotic syndrome in prospective studies included use/non-use of thrombolysis and plasma levels of factor VIII activity and D-dimer. Conclusions Given that affected children must endure chronic sequelae for many decades, it is imperative that future collaborative pediatric prospective cohort studies and trials assess as key objectives and outcomes the incidence, severity, prognostic indicators, and health impact of post-thrombotic syndrome, using validated measures. PMID:20595095

Identification and assessment of common errors in the admission process of patients in Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center based on "failure modes and effects analysis".

PubMed

Dehghan, Ashraf; Abumasoudi, Rouhollah Sheikh; Ehsanpour, Soheila

2016-01-01

Infertility and errors in the process of its treatment have a negative impact on infertile couples. The present study was aimed to identify and assess the common errors in the reception process by applying the approach of "failure modes and effects analysis" (FMEA). In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the admission process of fertility and infertility center of Isfahan was selected for evaluation of its errors based on the team members' decision. At first, the admission process was charted through observations and interviewing employees, holding multiple panels, and using FMEA worksheet, which has been used in many researches all over the world and also in Iran. Its validity was evaluated through content and face validity, and its reliability was evaluated through reviewing and confirmation of the obtained information by the FMEA team, and eventually possible errors, causes, and three indicators of severity of effect, probability of occurrence, and probability of detection were determined and corrective actions were proposed. Data analysis was determined by the number of risk priority (RPN) which is calculated by multiplying the severity of effect, probability of occurrence, and probability of detection. Twenty-five errors with RPN ≥ 125 was detected through the admission process, in which six cases of error had high priority in terms of severity and occurrence probability and were identified as high-risk errors. The team-oriented method of FMEA could be useful for assessment of errors and also to reduce the occurrence probability of errors.

Identification and assessment of common errors in the admission process of patients in Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center based on “failure modes and effects analysis”

PubMed Central

Dehghan, Ashraf; Abumasoudi, Rouhollah Sheikh; Ehsanpour, Soheila

2016-01-01

Background: Infertility and errors in the process of its treatment have a negative impact on infertile couples. The present study was aimed to identify and assess the common errors in the reception process by applying the approach of “failure modes and effects analysis” (FMEA). Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the admission process of fertility and infertility center of Isfahan was selected for evaluation of its errors based on the team members’ decision. At first, the admission process was charted through observations and interviewing employees, holding multiple panels, and using FMEA worksheet, which has been used in many researches all over the world and also in Iran. Its validity was evaluated through content and face validity, and its reliability was evaluated through reviewing and confirmation of the obtained information by the FMEA team, and eventually possible errors, causes, and three indicators of severity of effect, probability of occurrence, and probability of detection were determined and corrective actions were proposed. Data analysis was determined by the number of risk priority (RPN) which is calculated by multiplying the severity of effect, probability of occurrence, and probability of detection. Results: Twenty-five errors with RPN ≥ 125 was detected through the admission process, in which six cases of error had high priority in terms of severity and occurrence probability and were identified as high-risk errors. Conclusions: The team-oriented method of FMEA could be useful for assessment of errors and also to reduce the occurrence probability of errors. PMID:28194208

Climate-driven trends in the occurrence of major floods across North America and Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodgkins, Glenn A.; Whitfield, Paul H.; Burn, Donald H.; Hannaford, Jamie; Renard, Benjamin; Stahl, Kerstin; Fleig, Anne K.; Madsen, Henrik; Mediero, Luis; Korhonen, Johanna; Murphy, Conor; Crochet, Philippe; Wilson, Donna

2016-04-01

Every year river floods cause enormous damage around the world. Recent major floods in North America and Europe, for example, have received much press, with some concluding that these floods are more frequent in recent years as a result of anthropogenic warming. There has been considerable scientific effort invested in establishing whether observed flood records show evidence of trends or variability in flood frequency, and to determine whether these patterns can be linked to climatic changes. However, the river catchments used in many published studies are influenced by direct human alteration such as reservoir regulation and urbanisation, which can confound the interpretation of climate-driven variability. Furthermore, a majority of previous studies have analysed changes in low magnitude floods, such as the annual peak flow, at a national scale. Few studies are known that have analysed changes in large floods (greater than 25-year floods) on a continental scale. To fill this research gap, we present a study analysing flood flows from reference hydrologic networks (RHNs) or RHN-like gauges across a large study domain embracing North America and much of Europe. RHNs comprise gauging stations with minimally disturbed catchment conditions, which have a near-natural flow regime and provide good quality data; RHN analyses thus allow hydro-climatic variability to be distinguished from direct artificial disturbances or data inhomogeneities. One of the key innovations in this study is the definition of an RHN-like network consisting of 1204 catchments on a continental scale. The network incorporates existing, well-established RHNs in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland and Norway, alongside RHN-like catchments from Europe (France, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Spain), which have been incorporated in the network following a major effort to ensure RHN-like status of candidate gauges through consultation with local experts. As the aim of the study is to examine long-term variability in the number of major floods, annual exceedances of 25-, 50-, and 100-year floods during the last 50 - 80 years are estimated for all study gauges across North America and Europe, and for smaller groups of gauges defined by catchment size, location, climate, flood threshold, and period of record. Trends are computed using logistic regression techniques, supported by a suite of methods used to test the assumptions used in the analysis. We also analyse relationships between major flood occurrence and atmosphere/ocean indices (the AMO, NAO, PDO and SOI). Our analysis finds no compelling evidence for consistent changes over time in major-flood occurrence across North America and Europe, indicating that generalizations about major-flood occurrence trends across large domains or a diversity of catchment types are ungrounded. There are in fact more significant relationships between major-flood occurrence and the AMO than between flood occurrence and time. Flood occurrence overall (based on data from all 1204 gauges in our study) increased from 1961 to 2010 but not significantly, driven primarily by European increases. Non-significant increases were also found overall from 1931 to 2010 (322 gauges) but driven primarily by North American increases. Flood occurrence increased and decreased (including some significant changes) for the various sub-groups of gauges. Overall this study demonstrates that past changes in major-flood occurrence are highly complex and future changes will be likewise. International hydrologic networks containing minimally altered catchments will play a key role in understanding these complexities.

The effect of evaluation on co-occurrence memory judgement.

PubMed

Bar-Anan, Yoav; Amzaleg-David, Efrat

2014-01-01

Three experiments tested the effect of an attitude towards an object on the memory judgement of whether this object co-occurred with positive versus negative stimuli. We induced positive or negative attitudes towards novel male stimuli, and paired each man with an equal number of positive and negative animals. In a memory test, participants reported more co-occurrences of same-valence man/animal pairs than opposite-valence pairs. This valence-compatibility effect occurred even when attitudes were induced after the pairing (Experiment 1), when participants knew that each man occurred with an equal number of positive and negative animals (Experiment 2), and in reports of clear memory of pairs that did not co-occur (Experiment 3). The present findings suggest that evaluation causes illusory correlation even when the co-occurring stimuli are not traits or behaviours attributed to the attitude object. The results question the validity of co-occurrence memory judgements as measures of co-occurrence awareness in evaluative conditioning (EC) research.

The Development of Educational Accountability in China and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Palle; Zou, Yihuan

2014-01-01

In recent decades, the concept of accountability has attracted more and more attention in public governance and management. The management of education is no exception. This article presents and discusses the evolution and current status of educational accountability in two different national contexts, China and Denmark. Two main sectors of…

Wind Technology, Cost, and Performance Trends in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the European Union, and the United States: 2007 - 2012; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hand, Maureen

This presentation provides a summary of IEA Wind Task 26 report on Wind Technology, Cost, and Performance Trends in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the European Union, and the United States: 2007-2012

26 CFR 521.111 - Pensions and life annuities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2012-04-01 2010-04-01 true Pensions and life annuities. 521.111 Section 521... UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.111 Pensions and life annuities. Under the provisions of Article...

26 CFR 521.111 - Pensions and life annuities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2014-04-01 2010-04-01 true Pensions and life annuities. 521.111 Section 521... UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.111 Pensions and life annuities. Under the provisions of Article...

26 CFR 521.111 - Pensions and life annuities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2013-04-01 2010-04-01 true Pensions and life annuities. 521.111 Section 521... UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.111 Pensions and life annuities. Under the provisions of Article...

A Comparison of Autism Prevalence Trends in Denmark and Western Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parner, Erik T.; Thorsen, Poul; Dixon, Glenys; de Klerk, Nicholas; Leonard, Helen; Nassar, Natasha; Bourke, Jenny; Bower, Carol; Glasson, Emma J.

2011-01-01

Prevalence statistics for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) vary widely across geographical boundaries. Some variation can be explained by diagnostic methods, case ascertainment and age at diagnosis. This study compared prevalence statistics for two distinct geographical regions, Denmark and Western Australia, both of which have had population-based…

Snapshots of Language and Literature Teaching in Denmark and England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Peter; Dorf, Hans

2016-01-01

To illustrate differences in lower secondary-level language and literature teaching, we contrast a typical teaching episode in Denmark with one in England. Both reflect the dominant discourses in each country alongside recent policy initiatives, and each exemplifies a different orientation to language and literature teaching focussing on…

Denmark's Boernehavens: A Place to Grow

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mecham, Neil A.

2010-01-01

During the author's trips to Denmark as an instructor of American college students studying abroad, he led groups to visit several "boernehavens," which are the Danish equivalents of U.S. preschools for children ages 3 to 5. Danish society values confident individuals who can take initiative when faced with challenges and opportunities.…

Shakespeare, Chekhov and the Emergence of the Transcultured Self in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klimenko, Svetlana

2003-01-01

This paper discusses ways in which theatre practices reflect the dynamics of historical development seen from the perspective of transculturation (Epstein, 1995). The analysis is centred on modes of appropriation of Shakespeare and Chekhov in Denmark. The argument relies on a broader statistical investigation into repertoire development, but…

National Tests in Denmark: CAT as a Pedagogic Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wandall, Jakob

2017-01-01

This article describes standardised testing in Denmark and the protections guaranteed to avoid "high stakes". It explains the use of computer-based "adaptive tests" which adjust to an appropriate level for each student. It is an abbreviated version of an article from 2011 in the "Journal for Applied Testing…

The sensitivity of US wildfire occurrence to pre-season soil moisture conditions across ecosystems.

PubMed

Jensen, Daniel; Reager, John T; Zajic, Brittany; Rousseau, Nick; Rodell, Matthew; Hinkley, Everett

2018-01-01

It is generally accepted that year-to-year variability in moisture conditions and drought are linked with increased wildfire occurrence. However, quantifying the sensitivity of wildfire to surface moisture state at seasonal lead-times has been challenging due to the absence of a long soil moisture record with the appropriate coverage and spatial resolution for continental-scale analysis. Here we apply model simulations of surface soil moisture that numerically assimilate observations from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission with the US Forest Service's historical Fire-Occurrence Database over the contiguous United States. We quantify the relationships between pre-fire-season soil moisture and subsequent-year wildfire occurrence by land-cover type and produce annual probable wildfire occurrence and burned area maps at 0.25-degree resolution. Cross-validated results generally indicate a higher occurrence of smaller fires when months preceding fire season are wet, while larger fires are more frequent when soils are dry. This result is consistent with the concept of increased fuel accumulation under wet conditions in the pre-season. These results demonstrate the fundamental strength of the relationship between soil moisture and fire activity at long lead-times and are indicative of that relationship's utility for the future development of national-scale predictive capability.

The sensitivity of US wildfire occurrence to pre-season soil moisture conditions across ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, Daniel; Reager, John T.; Zajic, Brittany; Rousseau, Nick; Rodell, Matthew; Hinkley, Everett

2018-01-01

It is generally accepted that year-to-year variability in moisture conditions and drought are linked with increased wildfire occurrence. However, quantifying the sensitivity of wildfire to surface moisture state at seasonal lead-times has been challenging due to the absence of a long soil moisture record with the appropriate coverage and spatial resolution for continental-scale analysis. Here we apply model simulations of surface soil moisture that numerically assimilate observations from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission with the USDA Forest Service’s historical Fire-Occurrence Database over the contiguous United States. We quantify the relationships between pre-fire-season soil moisture and subsequent-year wildfire occurrence by land-cover type and produce annual probable wildfire occurrence and burned area maps at 0.25 degree resolution. Cross-validated results generally indicate a higher occurrence of smaller fires when months preceding fire season are wet, while larger fires are more frequent when soils are dry. This is consistent with the concept of increased fuel accumulation under wet conditions in the pre-season. These results demonstrate the fundamental strength of the relationship between soil moisture and fire activity at long lead-times and are indicative of that relationship’s utility for the future development of national-scale predictive capability.

Obstetric and neonatal outcome in women aged 50 years and up: A collaborative, Nordic population-based study.

PubMed

Khatibi, Ali; Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie; Gissler, Mika; Morken, Nils-Halvdan; Jacobsson, Bo

2018-05-01

Childbearing at extremely advanced maternal age is a globally increasing trend, but only a few studies have described the outcomes of these pregnancies. The aim of this study was to describe the occurrence of childbearing at age 50 and up in the Nordic countries, as well as to examine the frequency of adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes. A descriptive population-based study was designed. Data from 1991 to 2013 were collected from the Medical Birth Registries in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. We investigated the occurrence of antepartum, delivery and neonatal outcomes. A total of 170 deliveries, in 141 singleton and 29 multiple pregnancies, were identified in mothers aged 50 and up. The highest frequency during this period was 6 per 100,000 deliveries. The prevalence for selected adverse outcomes in singleton pregnancies were: intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) 6%, preeclampsia 4%, preterm delivery 14%, gestational diabetes 8% and cesarean delivery 50%. In multiple pregnancies, the respective prevalence were: IUFD 2%, preeclampsia 22%, preterm delivery 57%, gestational diabetes 10% and cesarean delivery 79%. Pregnancy after assisted reproductive technologies was frequent (29% of singleton and 50% of multiple pregnancies). This study found high frequency of obstetric and neonatal complications at extremely advanced maternal age. Despite a high prevalence of stillbirth in singleton pregnancies in the studied Nordic countries, other complications were less frequent than those previously reported in different populations. Adequate preconception consultation concerning maternal and neonatal hazards is highly recommended in this group of women. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A population-based study of the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder associated with parent-child separation during development.

PubMed

Paksarian, D; Eaton, W W; Mortensen, P B; Merikangas, K R; Pedersen, C B

2015-10-01

There is growing interest in the role of childhood adversities, including parental death and separation, in the etiology of psychotic disorders. However, few studies have used prospectively collected data to specifically investigate parental separation across development, or assessed the importance of duration of separation, and family characteristics. We measured three types of separation not due to death: maternal, paternal, and from both parents, across the ages of 1-15 years among a cohort of 985 058 individuals born in Denmark 1971-1991 and followed to 2011. Associations with narrowly and broadly defined schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the psychiatric register were assessed in terms of separation occurrence, age of separation, and number of years separated. Interactions with parental history of mental disorder were assessed. Each type of separation was associated with all three outcomes, adjusting for age, sex, birth period, calendar year, family history of mental disorder, urbanicity at birth and parental age. Number of years of paternal separation was positively associated with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Associations between separation from both parents and schizophrenia were stronger when separation occurred at later ages, while those with bipolar disorder remained stable across development. The first occurrence of paternal separation appeared to increase risk more when it occurred earlier in childhood. Associations differed according to parental history of mental disorder, although in no situation was separation protective. Effects of parental separation may differ by type, developmental timing and family characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of considering such factors in studies of childhood adversity.

Predicting Occurrence of Spine Surgery Complications Using "Big Data" Modeling of an Administrative Claims Database.

PubMed

Ratliff, John K; Balise, Ray; Veeravagu, Anand; Cole, Tyler S; Cheng, Ivan; Olshen, Richard A; Tian, Lu

2016-05-18

Postoperative metrics are increasingly important in determining standards of quality for physicians and hospitals. Although complications following spinal surgery have been described, procedural and patient variables have yet to be incorporated into a predictive model of adverse-event occurrence. We sought to develop a predictive model of complication occurrence after spine surgery. We used longitudinal prospective data from a national claims database and developed a predictive model incorporating complication type and frequency of occurrence following spine surgery procedures. We structured our model to assess the impact of features such as preoperative diagnosis, patient comorbidities, location in the spine, anterior versus posterior approach, whether fusion had been performed, whether instrumentation had been used, number of levels, and use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). We assessed a variety of adverse events. Prediction models were built using logistic regression with additive main effects and logistic regression with main effects as well as all 2 and 3-factor interactions. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization was used to select features. Competing approaches included boosted additive trees and the classification and regression trees (CART) algorithm. The final prediction performance was evaluated by estimating the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) as predictions were applied to independent validation data and compared with the Charlson comorbidity score. The model was developed from 279,135 records of patients with a minimum duration of follow-up of 30 days. Preliminary assessment showed an adverse-event rate of 13.95%, well within norms reported in the literature. We used the first 80% of the records for training (to predict adverse events) and the remaining 20% of the records for validation. There was remarkable similarity among methods, with an AUC of 0.70 for predicting the occurrence of adverse events. The AUC using the Charlson comorbidity score was 0.61. The described model was more accurate than Charlson scoring (p < 0.01). We present a modeling effort based on administrative claims data that predicts the occurrence of complications after spine surgery. We believe that the development of a predictive modeling tool illustrating the risk of complication occurrence after spine surgery will aid in patient counseling and improve the accuracy of risk modeling strategies. Copyright © 2016 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.

Environmental and public health related risk of veterinary zinc in pig production - Using Denmark as an example.

PubMed

Jensen, John; Kyvsgaard, Niels Christian; Battisti, Antonio; Baptiste, Keith Edward

2018-05-01

At great economic cost, important steps have been taken over the last many decades to reduce and control emissions of heavy metals in order to protect the environment and public health. Monitoring has confirmed the success of these policies with progressive declines of heavy metals in for example air, sewage sludge and environmental samples. For zinc, such improvements may nevertheless be counter-acted by its widely usage as a feed additive and veterinary medicinal product to piglets in the post-weaning period resulting in reduced occurrence of diarrhea and improvement of daily weight gain. This review therefore focuses on two major concerns associated with veterinary use of zinc, namely the quantifiable risks to the environment and promotion of (multi) resistant bacteria like LA-MRSA in pig farms. Denmark is used as an informed and realistic worst-case scenario, representing the largest pig production per capita in Europe. It is furthermore, one of the countries where most recent information can be found regarding soil monitoring data and zinc consumption within the pig production. An average increase in soil concentration by >45% was recently reported within the period 1998-2014. In order to predict future risk, this review presents new and simplified model predictions using current soil concentrations, annual load rates and predicted accumulation rates. In conclusion, it is estimated that within 25 years, continued agricultural practice of current zinc loads may result in a situation where almost all soils receiving manure from intensive piglet production may be at risk, but also other pig production types may result in scenarios with predicted risk to soil dwelling species, especially in sandy soils. Besides the quantifiable risks to soil ecosystems, high levels of zinc furthermore co-select for the persistence of LA-MRSA CC398 and other resistant bacteria on pig farms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Holocene estuary development of the Hesselø Bay area, southern Kattegat, Denmark and its implication for Ancylus Lake drainage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bendixen, Carina; Boldreel, Lars Ole; Jensen, Jørn Bo; Bennike, Ole; Hübscher, Christian; Clausen, Ole Rønø

2017-12-01

High-resolution shallow seismic data, sediment core information, radiocarbon dating and sequence stratigraphy have been used to interpret the late glacial to early Holocene geological evolution of Hesselø Bay in the southern Kattegat, Denmark. A reconstruction of the early Holocene coastal environment and a description of coastal processes associated with a river outlet into the bay are presented. Weichselian glacial deposits form the lowermost interpreted unit, covered by late glacial (LG) and postglacial (PG, Holocene) sediments. A funnel-shaped estuary existed at the mouth of channels in the period 10.3-9.2 cal. ka BP; the channels drained water from south to north. The early PG is characterised by estuarine and coastal deposits. The early Holocene bars that developed in the estuary are preserved as morphological features on the present-day seabed, possibly as a result of rapid relative sea-level rise. The estuary existed simultaneously with the occurrence and drainage of the Ancylus Lake. The drainage of this lake occurred through the Dana River (palaeo-Great Belt channel) into the southern Kattegat and then into the study area. The level of the Ancylus Lake in the Baltic Sea region dropped significantly at about 10.2 cal. ka BP at the same time as the estuary developed in the Kattegat region. One outcome of the present study is an enhanced understanding of the Ancylus Lake drainage path. No evidence of major erosion is seen, which indicates non-catastrophic continuous water flow from the south without major drainage events of the Ancylus Lake to the southern Kattegat. During the Littorina transgression, coastal estuarine conditions characterized the Hesselø Bay area where elongated ridges formed a bar system. As the Littorina transgression continued, back-stepping of the bar system and coastline occurred. When the transgression breached the Great Belt threshold, flooding caused major erosion throughout the study area.

Register-based predictors of violations of animal welfare legislation in dairy herds.

PubMed

Otten, N D; Nielsen, L R; Thomsen, P T; Houe, H

2014-12-01

The assessment of animal welfare can include resource-based or animal-based measures. Official animal welfare inspections in Denmark primarily control compliance with animal welfare legislation based on resource measures (e.g. housing system) and usually do not regard animal response parameters (e.g. clinical and behavioural observations). Herds selected for welfare inspections are sampled by a risk-based strategy based on existing register data. The aim of the present study was to evaluate register data variables as predictors of dairy herds with violations of the animal welfare legislation (VoAWL) defined as occurrence of at least one of the two most frequently violated measures found at recent inspections in Denmark, namely (a) presence of injured animals not separated from the rest of the group and/or (b) animals in a condition warranting euthanasia still being present in the herd. A total of 25 variables were extracted from the Danish Cattle Database and assessed as predictors using a multivariable logistic analysis of a data set including 73 Danish dairy herds, which all had more than 100 cows and cubicle loose-housing systems. Univariable screening was used to identify variables associated with VoAWL at a P-value<0.2 for the inclusion in a multivariable logistic regression analysis. Backward selection procedures identified the following variables for the final model predictive of VoAWL: increasing standard deviation of milk yield for first lactation cows, high bulk tank somatic cell count (⩾250 000 cells/ml) and suspiciously low number of recorded veterinary treatments (⩽25 treatments/100 cow years). The identified predictors may be explained by underlying management factors leading to impaired animal welfare in the herd, such as poor hygiene, feeding and management of dry or calving cows and sick animals. However, further investigations are required for causal inferences to be established.

Method Development and Monitoring of Cyanotoxins in Water (ACS Central Presentation)

EPA Science Inventory

Increasing occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in ambient waters has become a worldwide concern. Numerous cyanotoxins can be produced during HAB events which are toxic to animals and humans. Validated standardized methods that are rugged, selective and sensit...

Seasonality in twin birth rates, Denmark, 1936-84.

PubMed

Bonnelykke, B; Søgaard, J; Nielsen, J

1987-12-01

A study was made of seasonality in twin birth rate in Denmark between 1977 and 1984. We studied all twin births (N = 45,550) in all deliveries (N = 3,679,932) during that period. Statistical analysis using a simple harmonic sinusoidal model provided no evidence for seasonality. However, sequential polynomial analysis disclosed a significant fit to a fifth order polynomial curve with peaks in twin birth rates in May-June and December, along with troughs in February and September. A falling trend in twinning rate broke off in Denmark around 1970, and from 1970 to 1984 an increasing trend was found. The results are discussed in terms of possible environmental influences on twinning.

Can species distribution models really predict the expansion of invasive species?

PubMed

Barbet-Massin, Morgane; Rome, Quentin; Villemant, Claire; Courchamp, Franck

2018-01-01

Predictive studies are of paramount importance for biological invasions, one of the biggest threats for biodiversity. To help and better prioritize management strategies, species distribution models (SDMs) are often used to predict the potential invasive range of introduced species. Yet, SDMs have been regularly criticized, due to several strong limitations, such as violating the equilibrium assumption during the invasion process. Unfortunately, validation studies-with independent data-are too scarce to assess the predictive accuracy of SDMs in invasion biology. Yet, biological invasions allow to test SDMs usefulness, by retrospectively assessing whether they would have accurately predicted the latest ranges of invasion. Here, we assess the predictive accuracy of SDMs in predicting the expansion of invasive species. We used temporal occurrence data for the Asian hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax, a species native to China that is invading Europe with a very fast rate. Specifically, we compared occurrence data from the last stage of invasion (independent validation points) to the climate suitability distribution predicted from models calibrated with data from the early stage of invasion. Despite the invasive species not being at equilibrium yet, the predicted climate suitability of validation points was high. SDMs can thus adequately predict the spread of V. v. nigrithorax, which appears to be-at least partially-climatically driven. In the case of V. v. nigrithorax, SDMs predictive accuracy was slightly but significantly better when models were calibrated with invasive data only, excluding native data. Although more validation studies for other invasion cases are needed to generalize our results, our findings are an important step towards validating the use of SDMs in invasion biology.

Can species distribution models really predict the expansion of invasive species?

PubMed Central

Rome, Quentin; Villemant, Claire; Courchamp, Franck

2018-01-01

Predictive studies are of paramount importance for biological invasions, one of the biggest threats for biodiversity. To help and better prioritize management strategies, species distribution models (SDMs) are often used to predict the potential invasive range of introduced species. Yet, SDMs have been regularly criticized, due to several strong limitations, such as violating the equilibrium assumption during the invasion process. Unfortunately, validation studies–with independent data–are too scarce to assess the predictive accuracy of SDMs in invasion biology. Yet, biological invasions allow to test SDMs usefulness, by retrospectively assessing whether they would have accurately predicted the latest ranges of invasion. Here, we assess the predictive accuracy of SDMs in predicting the expansion of invasive species. We used temporal occurrence data for the Asian hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax, a species native to China that is invading Europe with a very fast rate. Specifically, we compared occurrence data from the last stage of invasion (independent validation points) to the climate suitability distribution predicted from models calibrated with data from the early stage of invasion. Despite the invasive species not being at equilibrium yet, the predicted climate suitability of validation points was high. SDMs can thus adequately predict the spread of V. v. nigrithorax, which appears to be—at least partially–climatically driven. In the case of V. v. nigrithorax, SDMs predictive accuracy was slightly but significantly better when models were calibrated with invasive data only, excluding native data. Although more validation studies for other invasion cases are needed to generalize our results, our findings are an important step towards validating the use of SDMs in invasion biology. PMID:29509789

Evaluating the influence of geo-environmental factors on gully erosion in a semi-arid region of Iran: An integrated framework.

PubMed

Rahmati, Omid; Tahmasebipour, Naser; Haghizadeh, Ali; Pourghasemi, Hamid Reza; Feizizadeh, Bakhtiar

2017-02-01

Despite the importance of soil erosion in sustainable development goals in arid and semi-arid areas, the study of the geo-environmental conditions and factors influencing gully erosion occurrence is rarely undertaken. As effort to this challenge, the main objective of this study is to apply an integrated approach of Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) together with high-spatial resolution imagery (SPOT-5) for detecting gully erosion features at the Kashkan-Poldokhtar watershed, Iran. We also aimed to apply a Conditional Probability (CP) model for establishing the spatial relationship between gullies and the Geo-Environmental Factors (GEFs). The gully erosion inventory map prepared using GEOBIA and field surveying was randomly partitioned into two subsets: (1) part 1 that contains 70% was used in the training phase of the CP model; (2) part 2 is a validation dataset (30%) for validation of the model and to confirm its accuracy. Prediction performances of the GEOBIA and CP model were checked by overall accuracy and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve methods, respectively. In addition, the influence of all GEFs on gully erosion was evaluated by performing a sensitivity analysis model. The validation findings illustrated that overall accuracy for GEOBIA approach and the area under the ROC curve for the CP model were 92.4% and 89.9%, respectively. Also, based on sensitivity analysis, soil texture, drainage density, and lithology represent significantly effects on the gully erosion occurrence. This study has shown that the integrated framework can be successfully used for modeling gully erosion occurrence in a data-poor environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modelling the probability of ionospheric irregularity occurrence over African low latitude region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mungufeni, Patrick; Jurua, Edward; Bosco Habarulema, John; Anguma Katrini, Simon

2015-06-01

This study presents models of geomagnetically quiet time probability of occurrence of ionospheric irregularities over the African low latitude region. GNSS-derived ionospheric total electron content data from Mbarara, Uganda (0.60°S, 30.74°E, geographic, 10.22°S, magnetic) and Libreville, Gabon (0.35°N, 9.68°E, geographic, 8.05°S, magnetic) during the period 2001-2012 were used. First, we established the rate of change of total electron content index (ROTI) value associated with background ionospheric irregularity over the region. This was done by analysing GNSS carrier-phases at L-band frequencies L1 and L2 with the aim of identifying cycle slip events associated with ionospheric irregularities. We identified at both stations a total of 699 events of cycle slips. The corresponding median ROTI value at the epochs of the cycle slip events was 0.54 TECU/min. The probability of occurrence of ionospheric irregularities associated with ROTI ≥ 0.5 TECU / min was then modelled by fitting cubic B-splines to the data. The aspects the model captured included diurnal, seasonal, and solar flux dependence patterns of the probability of occurrence of ionospheric irregularities. The model developed over Mbarara was validated with data over Mt. Baker, Uganda (0.35°N, 29.90°E, geographic, 9.25°S, magnetic), Kigali, Rwanda (1.94°S, 30.09°E, geographic, 11.62°S, magnetic), and Kampala, Uganda (0.34°N, 32.60°E, geographic, 9.29°S, magnetic). For the period validated at Mt. Baker (approximately, 137.64 km, north west), Kigali (approximately, 162.42 km, south west), and Kampala (approximately, 237.61 km, north east) the percentages of the number of errors (difference between the observed and the modelled probability of occurrence of ionospheric irregularity) less than 0.05 are 97.3, 89.4, and 81.3, respectively.

Increasing spontaneous language in three autistic children.

PubMed Central

Matson, J L; Sevin, J A; Fridley, D; Love, S R

1990-01-01

A time delay procedure was used to increase spontaneous verbalizations of 3 autistic children. Multiple baseline across behaviors designs were used with target responses, selected via a social validation procedure, of two spontaneous responses ("please" and "thank you") and one verbally prompted response ("you're welcome"). The results indicate gains across target behaviors for all children, with occurrence across other stimuli and settings. These gains were validated socially with 10 adults. Furthermore, increases in appropriate language had no effect on levels of inappropriate speech. PMID:2373659

Optimization as a Dispositive in the Production of Differences in Denmark Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamre, Bjørn

2014-01-01

The theoretical framework of this paper is inspired by governmentality studies in education. The key concepts are problematization, formatting technologies, and dispositive. The paper begins with an empirical study conducted in Denmark of forty-four files from educational psychologists and articles from journals concerning schools and education.…

What's Happening in Denmark?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Corey

2012-01-01

This article describes the author's experience in alumni relations in a country, Denmark, where few are willing to bear the institution's logo. The author likens his journey to that of Lewis and Clark, who introduced the rest of America to the western part of North America. And just like them, the author and his colleague experienced unforeseen…

Day Care for Children in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leira, Arnlaug

Based on information gathered in 1986, this report describes day care in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The focus of the report is on structural aspects of day care, including provision, management and finances, and questions concerning supply, demand, and distribution. Part I provides an introduction to the report and discusses the Scandinavian…

Who Cares for the Children? Denmark's Unique Public Child-Care Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polakow, Valerie

1997-01-01

U.S. working mothers wrestle daily with a child-care crisis characterized by unavailable infant care, high costs, and inadequate access and regulation. In Denmark, high-quality child care is a guaranteed entitlement for every child. Other benefits include paid parental leaves, single-parent allowances, housing subsidies, and universal health care.…

Situation Report - Denmark, France, German Federal Republic, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in nine foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Denmark, France, German Federal Republic, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland. Information is provided in the following areas where appropriate and if it is available: (1) statistics…

Practical Elements in Danish Engineering Programmes, Including the European Project Semester

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Jorgen

2012-01-01

In Denmark, all engineering programmes in HE have practical elements; for instance, at Bachelor's level, an internship is an integrated part of the programme. Furthermore, Denmark has a long-established tradition of problem-based and project-organized learning, and a large part of students' projects, including their final projects, is done in…

Vocational Training of Young Migrants in Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koefoed, Else

A study looked at the overall situation of the immigrant population, and young immigrants in particular, and analyzed such problem areas as the transition from school to working life and the inadequacies of initial training with relation to the situation in Denmark. The study identified the following problem areas: (1) problems relating to the…

University Governance in Denmark: From Democracy to Accountability?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carney, Stephen

2006-01-01

This article reports the findings of a Danish research council-funded project aimed at exploring a comprehensive package of management reforms in higher education instituted in Denmark since 2003. The reforms attempt to change not only the way institutions are governed but the very notion of democracy and engagement in higher education. In short,…

Denmark. [CME Country Reports].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council of Europe, Strasbourg (France). Documentation Center for Education in Europe.

According to an agreement between the parties of the labour market and the Ministry of Labour, the immigration of foreign workers into Denmark takes place on a quota basis and conforms to a series of regulations, including a rule that the foreign worker, prior to departing from his country, must have made contract arrangements for his job. This…

Bridging the Gap between Academic and Industrial/Commercial Intelligence. The Case of Denmark: A Personal View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poulsen, Sten C.

1989-01-01

The author provides historical background for important Danish educational research, heavily influenced by Marxist thought, from 1968 through 1982. The breakdown of the research activity is explained. The author concludes by arguing that Denmark needs adult development and education centers to continue the research activity. (CH)

Skrammellegepladsen: Denmark's first adventure play area

Treesearch

Amanda Rae O' Connor; James F. Palmer

2003-01-01

This paper reviews the philosophy of the adventure playground movement and particularly the goals of the original adventure playground, Skrammellegepladsen in Copenhagen, Denmark. We then present a case study investigation of the ways that Skrammellegepladsen is used, the perceptions of the users, and the extent that the play area embodies its original philosophy. The...

Recurrent Education: Policy and Development in OECD Member Countries. Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Berrit

The report on recurrent education in Denmark is one of a series describing continuation education in OECD member countries. Intended as a means of liberating individuals from the education-work-leisure-retirement sequence, recurrent education provides freedom to mix and alternate these phases of life within the limits of the socially possible.…

26 CFR 521.117 - Claims in cases of double taxation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Claims in cases of double taxation. 521.117...) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.117 Claims in cases of double taxation. Under Article XX...

Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tverborgvik, Torill; Clausen, Lene Björk; Thorsted, Brian Larsen; Mikkelsen, Sigurd; Lynge, Elsebeth

2013-01-01

In light of the Danish government's goal of 95% of every cohort achieving higher education by 2015, we investigate educational mobility in Denmark. Following 800,000 Danes and their parents, we found that children of parents with only basic education had a three-times-higher risk of achieving only basic education, compared with the children of…

26 CFR 521.117 - Claims in cases of double taxation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2011-04-01 2010-04-01 true Claims in cases of double taxation. 521.117...) REGULATIONS UNDER TAX CONVENTIONS DENMARK General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.117 Claims in cases of double taxation. Under Article XX...

Identifying climate analogues for precipitation extremes for Denmark based on RCM simulations from the ENSEMBLES database.

PubMed

Arnbjerg-Nielsen, K; Funder, S G; Madsen, H

2015-01-01

Climate analogues, also denoted Space-For-Time, may be used to identify regions where the present climatic conditions resemble conditions of a past or future state of another location or region based on robust climate variable statistics in combination with projections of how these statistics change over time. The study focuses on assessing climate analogues for Denmark based on current climate data set (E-OBS) observations as well as the ENSEMBLES database of future climates with the aim of projecting future precipitation extremes. The local present precipitation extremes are assessed by means of intensity-duration-frequency curves for urban drainage design for the relevant locations being France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Based on this approach projected increases of extreme precipitation by 2100 of 9 and 21% are expected for 2 and 10 year return periods, respectively. The results should be interpreted with caution as the best region to represent future conditions for Denmark is the coastal areas of Northern France, for which only little information is available with respect to present precipitation extremes.

Sex differences in mortality in Denmark during half a century, 1943-92.

PubMed

Helweg-Larsen, K; Juel, K

2000-09-01

The emphasis of this study is on the relative mortality of 45-74-year-old men and women in Denmark in 1943-92, following economic and political changes that have affected the social meaning of gender over the last 50 years, and which have diminished former sex differences in health behaviour. Sex ratios of total mortality and mortality from major non-sex-specific causes of death were calculated on computerized mortality data from the Danish National Cause of Death Register that covers all deaths in Denmark since 1943. In the early 1940s the sex ratio of all-cause mortality was low, 1.0-1.1, it increased to a peak level in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has since decreased due to an increase in female mortality and a more favourable trend in male mortality. Gender equality, employment, and economic autonomy may have beneficial health effects on both men and women, but the effects are inconsistent. The trend in smoking is the major explanatory factor for the more recent trends in gender differentials in mortality in Denmark.

Safety impacts of red light cameras at signalized intersections based on cellular automata models.

PubMed

Chai, C; Wong, Y D; Lum, K M

2015-01-01

This study applies a simulation technique to evaluate the hypothesis that red light cameras (RLCs) exert important effects on accident risks. Conflict occurrences are generated by simulation and compared at intersections with and without RLCs to assess the impact of RLCs on several conflict types under various traffic conditions. Conflict occurrences are generated through simulating vehicular interactions based on an improved cellular automata (CA) model. The CA model is calibrated and validated against field observations at approaches with and without RLCs. Simulation experiments are conducted for RLC and non-RLC intersections with different geometric layouts and traffic demands to generate conflict occurrences that are analyzed to evaluate the hypothesis that RLCs exert important effects on road safety. The comparison of simulated conflict occurrences show favorable safety impacts of RLCs on crossing conflicts and unfavorable impacts for rear-end conflicts during red/amber phases. Corroborative results are found from broad analysis of accident occurrence. RLCs are found to have a mixed effect on accident risk at signalized intersections: crossing collisions are reduced, whereas rear-end collisions may increase. The specially developed CA model is found to be a feasible safety assessment tool.

Self-perceived need for interpreter among immigrants in Denmark.

PubMed

Harpelund, Lars; Nielsen, Signe Smith; Krasnik, Allan

2012-07-01

Starting in June 2011, immigrants who have lived for more than 7 years in Denmark have to pay a user-fee for interpreters in GP consultations and when hospitalised. We do not know yet how many immigrants will be affected by this amendment to the Danish Health Act and which socioeconomic factors characterise the immigrants who might be affected. To shed light on this, we investigated self-perceived need for interpreter (SNI) in GP consultations among participants from the largest non-Western immigrant groups in Denmark, the association between socioeconomic factors and SNI, and the characteristics of the immigrants potentially affected by the act amendment. Survey data on 2866 immigrants from former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, and Turkey, linked to registry information on socioeconomic factors were examined. We compared unadjusted proportions of SNI by country of birth. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate associations between SNI and socioeconomic factors. Overall, 20% of immigrants living longer than 3 years in Denmark and 15% after 7 years reported a need for interpretation in their encounters with GPs. Of the latter group, the majority were outside the labour force (72.3%) and reported poor health (56%). Sex, age, length of stay, education, employment and household income were important factors for SNI. The amendment to the Health Act will primarily affect immigrants with modest household income, poor health and who are outside the labour force, thereby contributing and creating ethnic and social inequalities in access to health care in Denmark.

Drug safety and the impact of drug warnings: An interrupted time series analysis of diabetes drug prescriptions in Germany and Denmark.

PubMed

Hostenkamp, Gisela; Fischer, Katharina Elisabeth; Borch-Johnsen, Knut

2016-12-01

To analyse the impact of drug safety warnings from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on drug utilisation and their interaction with information released through national reimbursement bodies. Insurance claims data on anti-diabetic drug prescriptions in primary care in Germany and Denmark were analysed using interrupted time series analysis, with EMA drug warnings for thiazolidinediones (TZDs) in 2007 and 2011 as the intervention. Monthly drug utilisation data per substance in defined daily dosages (DDD) consumed per 1000 insurees were retrieved from the Danish national drug prescriptions register and one large statutory sickness fund in Germany. TZDs were generally reimbursed in Germany but restricted to individual reimbursement in Denmark. Consequently, utilisation of TZDs was much higher in Germany in 2007 compared with Denmark. For rosiglitazone, the drug warning had a significant impact on utilisation, reducing the number of DDD per 1000 insurees per day by -0.0105 in Denmark and -0.0312 in Germany (p-values<0.05). For pioglitazone, neither of the drug warnings had a significant effect on utilisation. The impact of EMA drug warnings differed across countries and might be mediated by information released through national reimbursement bodies and physician associations. Increasing complexity of new drugs and modified approval procedures require a strengthening of information exchange between drug regulation bodies and physicians to ensure patient safety. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Breast cancer survival and stage at diagnosis in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK, 2000-2007: a population-based study

PubMed Central

Walters, S; Maringe, C; Butler, J; Rachet, B; Barrett-Lee, P; Bergh, J; Boyages, J; Christiansen, P; Lee, M; Wärnberg, F; Allemani, C; Engholm, G; Fornander, T; Gjerstorff, M L; Johannesen, T B; Lawrence, G; McGahan, C E; Middleton, R; Steward, J; Tracey, E; Turner, D; Richards, M A; Coleman, M P

2013-01-01

Background: We investigate whether differences in breast cancer survival in six high-income countries can be explained by differences in stage at diagnosis using routine data from population-based cancer registries. Methods: We analysed the data on 257 362 women diagnosed with breast cancer during 2000–7 and registered in 13 population-based cancer registries in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Flexible parametric hazard models were used to estimate net survival and the excess hazard of dying from breast cancer up to 3 years after diagnosis. Results: Age-standardised 3-year net survival was 87–89% in the UK and Denmark, and 91–94% in the other four countries. Stage at diagnosis was relatively advanced in Denmark: only 30% of women had Tumour, Nodes, Metastasis (TNM) stage I disease, compared with 42–45% elsewhere. Women in the UK had low survival for TNM stage III–IV disease compared with other countries. Conclusion: International differences in breast cancer survival are partly explained by differences in stage at diagnosis, and partly by differences in stage-specific survival. Low overall survival arises if the stage distribution is adverse (e.g. Denmark) but stage-specific survival is normal; or if the stage distribution is typical but stage-specific survival is low (e.g. UK). International differences in staging diagnostics and stage-specific cancer therapies should be investigated. PMID:23449362

Use of history science methods in exposure assessment for occupational health studies

PubMed Central

Johansen, K; Tinnerberg, H; Lynge, E

2005-01-01

Aims: To show the power of history science methods for exposure assessment in occupational health studies, using the dry cleaning industry in Denmark around 1970 as the example. Methods: Exposure data and other information on exposure status were searched for in unconventional data sources such as the Danish National Archives, the Danish Royal Library, archives of Statistics Denmark, the National Institute of Occupational Health, Denmark, and the Danish Labor Inspection Agency. Individual census forms were retrieved from the Danish National Archives. Results: It was estimated that in total 3267 persons worked in the dry cleaning industry in Denmark in 1970. They typically worked in small shops with an average size of 3.5 persons. Of these, 2645 persons were considered exposed to solvents as they were dry cleaners or worked very close to the dry cleaning process, while 622 persons were office workers, drivers, etc in shops with 10 or more persons. It was estimated that tetrachloroethylene constituted 85% of the dry cleaning solvent used, and that a shop would normally have two machines using 4.6 tons of tetrachloroethylene annually. Conclusion: The history science methods, including retrieval of material from the Danish National Archives and a thorough search in the Royal Library for publications on dry cleaning, turned out to be a very fruitful approach for collection of exposure data on dry cleaning work in Denmark. The history science methods proved to be a useful supplement to the exposure assessment methods normally applied in epidemiological studies. PMID:15961618

National screening guidelines and developments in prenatal diagnoses and live births of Down syndrome in 1973-2016 in Denmark.

PubMed

Lou, Stina; Petersen, Olav B; Jørgensen, Finn S; Lund, Ida C B; Kjaergaard, Susanne; Vogel, Ida

2018-02-01

Denmark was the first country in the world to implement a national, free-for-all offer of prenatal screening for Down syndrome to all pregnant women. It has a high uptake (>90%) compared to other countries. Thus, Denmark offers an interesting case for investigating the consequences of implementing comprehensive, national prenatal screening guidelines. The aim of this study was to describe the historical developments in invasive procedures, pre-/postnatal diagnoses of Down syndrome and Down syndrome live births in the period 1973-2016 in Denmark. Data on invasive procedures, pre- and postnatal Down syndrome diagnoses were retrieved from the Danish Cytogenetic Central Registry. From 1973 to 1993, screening based on maternal age and high-risk indications resulted in a constant increase in invasive procedures. After the introduction of the triple test in 1994, invasive procedures decreased for the first time in 20 years. Following the introduction of an offer of combined screening to all pregnant women in 2004, the number of invasive procedures decreased markedly, while there was a concurrent increase in prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome. Additionally, the number of Down syndrome live births decreased suddenly and significantly, but subsequently stabilized at 23-35 annual live births. Of these, the majority were diagnosed postnatally. Though prenatal screening technologies constantly improve, it was the introduction of and adherence to national guidelines that resulted in marked shifts in screening procedures and outcome in Denmark. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Parental occupational exposure to solvents and heavy metals and risk of developing testicular germ cell tumors in sons (NORD-TEST Denmark).

PubMed

Olsson, Ann; Togawa, Kayo; Schüz, Joachim; Le Cornet, Charlotte; Fervers, Beatrice; Oksbjerg Dalton, Susanne; Pukkala, Eero; Feychting, Maria; Skakkebæk, Niels Erik; Hansen, Johnni

2018-06-07

Objective The present study aims to assess if parental occupational exposure to solvents or heavy metals is associated with risk of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) in sons in Denmark. Methods The NORD-TEST Denmark included 3421 cases diagnosed with TGCT at ages 14-49 years in Denmark between 1981 and 2014. Controls (N=14 024) selected from the central population registry were matched to cases on birth year. The Danish Supplementary Pension Fund provided parental occupational information. A job-exposure matrix was used to assign exposures, and conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The overall analyses showed no significant associations except for paternal exposure to a sub-group of "heavy metal(s) and solvent(s)" (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.01-2.24). Most fathers in this category had worked in wood related jobs and were assigned exposure to chromium VI and toluene. Other sub-group analyses suggested that maternal exposure to aromatic hydrocarbon were associated with TGCT risk, in sons born in 1970-1979, and to heavy metals (chromium, iron and nickel) in sons born in 1980-1998. Conclusion NORD-TEST Denmark provides no strong support for an association between parental exposures to solvents or heavy metals and TGCT in sons, and only weak support for an association between paternal exposure to chromium and toluene and TGCT risk in sons.

Use of history science methods in exposure assessment for occupational health studies.

PubMed

Johansen, K; Tinnerberg, H; Lynge, E

2005-07-01

To show the power of history science methods for exposure assessment in occupational health studies, using the dry cleaning industry in Denmark around 1970 as the example. Exposure data and other information on exposure status were searched for in unconventional data sources such as the Danish National Archives, the Danish Royal Library, archives of Statistics Denmark, the National Institute of Occupational Health, Denmark, and the Danish Labor Inspection Agency. Individual census forms were retrieved from the Danish National Archives. It was estimated that in total 3267 persons worked in the dry cleaning industry in Denmark in 1970. They typically worked in small shops with an average size of 3.5 persons. Of these, 2645 persons were considered exposed to solvents as they were dry cleaners or worked very close to the dry cleaning process, while 622 persons were office workers, drivers, etc in shops with 10 or more persons. It was estimated that tetrachloroethylene constituted 85% of the dry cleaning solvent used, and that a shop would normally have two machines using 4.6 tons of tetrachloroethylene annually. The history science methods, including retrieval of material from the Danish National Archives and a thorough search in the Royal Library for publications on dry cleaning, turned out to be a very fruitful approach for collection of exposure data on dry cleaning work in Denmark. The history science methods proved to be a useful supplement to the exposure assessment methods normally applied in epidemiological studies.

Parents' socioeconomic factors related to high antibiotic prescribing in primary health care among children aged 0-6 years in the Capital Region of Denmark.

PubMed

Jensen, Jette Nygaard; Bjerrum, Lars; Boel, Jonas; Jarløv, Jens Otto; Arpi, Magnus

2016-09-01

To investigate the distribution of antibiotic prescriptions in primary health care among children aged 0-6 years and its association with socioeconomic factors. A cross-sectional study describing antibiotic prescriptions and socioeconomic factors, using different population-based registers from Statistics Denmark. Antibiotic prescriptions in 2012 from primary health care in the Capital Region of Denmark. The population of children aged 0-6 years (n = 139,398) in the Capital Region of Denmark. High use of antibiotics identified by number of antibiotic prescriptions (≥ 3 prescriptions per year) and defined daily doses (DDD). A multinomial logistic regression analysis estimating the association between high antibiotic use and parents' education, employment status, income, child's sex, and ethnic background. Ten percent of children accounted for 25% of the total use DDD. There was a clear tendency that the risk for high antibiotic use increased as parental educational level decreased. The risk for high use was the highest among children of mothers and fathers with basic schooling ≤10 years (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.29-1.98, and OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.34-1.91, respectively). Low income and unemployment were not associated with high antibiotic use. Socioeconomic factors can only partially explain differences in antibiotic use. Further research is needed to clarify the unequal distribution of antibiotic prescribing and the association between high antibiotic use and low educational level. This would provide valuable information in the planning of strategies to promote rational use of antibiotics among children. KEY POINTS The Capital Region of Denmark has the highest rate of antibiotic prescribing in Denmark. Preschool children are among the age groups with the highest use. Ten percent of the children accounted for 25% of the total antibiotic use. Low parental educational level was associated with increased antibiotic use. Parents' income or employment status was not found to be associated with high antibiotic use.

The future of smoking-attributable mortality: the case of England & Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands.

PubMed

Stoeldraijer, Lenny; Bonneux, Luc; van Duin, Coen; van Wissen, Leo; Janssen, Fanny

2015-02-01

We formally estimate future smoking-attributable mortality up to 2050 for the total national populations of England & Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands, providing an update and extension of the descriptive smoking-epidemic model. We used smoking prevalence and population-level lung cancer mortality data for England & Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands, covering the period 1950-2009. To estimate the future smoking-attributable mortality fraction (SAF) we: (i) project lung cancer mortality by extrapolating age-period-cohort trends, using the observed convergence of smoking prevalence and similarities in past lung cancer mortality between men and women as input; and (ii) add other causes of death attributable to smoking by applying a simplified version of the indirect Peto-Lopez method to the projected lung cancer mortality. The SAF for men in 2009 was 19% (44 872 deaths) in England & Wales, 22% (5861 deaths) in Denmark and 25% (16 385 deaths) in the Netherlands. In our projections, these fractions decline to 6, 12 and 14%, respectively, in 2050. The SAF for women peaked at 14% (38 883 deaths) in 2008 in England & Wales, and is expected to peak in 2028 in Denmark (22%) and in 2033 in the Netherlands (23%). By 2050, a decline to 9, 17 and 19%, respectively, is foreseen. Different indirect estimation methods of the SAF in 2050 yield a range of 1-8% (England & Wales), 8-13% (Denmark) and 11-16% (the Netherlands) for men, and 7-16, 12-26 and 13-31% for women. From northern European data we project that smoking-attributable mortality will remain important for the future, especially for women. Whereas substantial differences between countries remain, the age-specific evolution of smoking-attributable mortality remains similar across countries and between sexes. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Indicators of Multiple Personality Disorder for the Clinician.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalton, Thomas W.

Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is now recognized as a valid diagnostic category. Occurrence may be higher than previously suspected. While physiological testing of MPD has shown significant differences between the various personalities of individuals in terms of galvanic skin response, electroencephalogram recordings, electrodermal response…

Modelling of spatial contaminant probabilities of occurrence of chlorinated hydrocarbons in an urban aquifer.

PubMed

Greis, Tillman; Helmholz, Kathrin; Schöniger, Hans Matthias; Haarstrick, Andreas

2012-06-01

In this study, a 3D urban groundwater model is presented which serves for calculation of multispecies contaminant transport in the subsurface on the regional scale. The total model consists of two submodels, the groundwater flow and reactive transport model, and is validated against field data. The model equations are solved applying finite element method. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to perform parameter identification of flow, transport and reaction processes. Coming from the latter, stochastic variation of flow, transport, and reaction input parameters and Monte Carlo simulation are used in calculating probabilities of pollutant occurrence in the domain. These probabilities could be part of determining future spots of contamination and their measure of damages. Application and validation is exemplarily shown for a contaminated site in Braunschweig (Germany), where a vast plume of chlorinated ethenes pollutes the groundwater. With respect to field application, the methods used for modelling reveal feasible and helpful tools to assess natural attenuation (MNA) and the risk that might be reduced by remediation actions.

Occurrence analysis of daily rainfalls by using non-homogeneous Poissonian processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirangelo, B.; Ferrari, E.; de Luca, D. L.

2009-09-01

In recent years several temporally homogeneous stochastic models have been applied to describe the rainfall process. In particular stochastic analysis of daily rainfall time series may contribute to explain the statistic features of the temporal variability related to the phenomenon. Due to the evident periodicity of the physical process, these models have to be used only to short temporal intervals in which occurrences and intensities of rainfalls can be considered reliably homogeneous. To this aim, occurrences of daily rainfalls can be considered as a stationary stochastic process in monthly periods. In this context point process models are widely used for at-site analysis of daily rainfall occurrence; they are continuous time series models, and are able to explain intermittent feature of rainfalls and simulate interstorm periods. With a different approach, periodic features of daily rainfalls can be interpreted by using a temporally non-homogeneous stochastic model characterized by parameters expressed as continuous functions in the time. In this case, great attention has to be paid to the parsimony of the models, as regards the number of parameters and the bias introduced into the generation of synthetic series, and to the influence of threshold values in extracting peak storm database from recorded daily rainfall heights. In this work, a stochastic model based on a non-homogeneous Poisson process, characterized by a time-dependent intensity of rainfall occurrence, is employed to explain seasonal effects of daily rainfalls exceeding prefixed threshold values. In particular, variation of rainfall occurrence intensity ? (t) is modelled by using Fourier series analysis, in which the non-homogeneous process is transformed into a homogeneous and unit one through a proper transformation of time domain, and the choice of the minimum number of harmonics is evaluated applying available statistical tests. The procedure is applied to a dataset of rain gauges located in different geographical zones of Mediterranean area. Time series have been selected on the basis of the availability of at least 50 years in the time period 1921-1985, chosen as calibration period, and of all the years of observation in the subsequent validation period 1986-2005, whose daily rainfall occurrence process variability is under hypothesis. Firstly, for each time series and for each fixed threshold value, parameters estimation of the non-homogeneous Poisson model is carried out, referred to calibration period. As second step, in order to test the hypothesis that daily rainfall occurrence process preserves the same behaviour in more recent time periods, the intensity distribution evaluated for calibration period is also adopted for the validation period. Starting from this and using a Monte Carlo approach, 1000 synthetic generations of daily rainfall occurrences, of length equal to validation period, have been carried out, and for each simulation sample ?(t) has been evaluated. This procedure is adopted because of the complexity of determining analytical statistical confidence limits referred to the sample intensity ?(t). Finally, sample intensity, theoretical function of the calibration period and 95% statistical band, evaluated by Monte Carlo approach, are matching, together with considering, for each threshold value, the mean square error (MSE) between the theoretical ?(t) and the sample one of recorded data, and his correspondent 95% one tail statistical band, estimated from the MSE values between the sample ?(t) of each synthetic series and the theoretical one. The results obtained may be very useful in the context of the identification and calibration of stochastic rainfall models based on historical precipitation data. Further applications of the non-homogeneous Poisson model will concern the joint analyses of the storm occurrence process with the rainfall height marks, interpreted by using a temporally homogeneous model in proper sub-year intervals.

Internet-based self-help therapy with FearFighter™ versus no intervention for anxiety disorders in adults: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Fenger, Morten; Lindschou, Jane; Gluud, Christian; Winkel, Per; Jørgensen, Lise; Kruse-Blinkenberg, Sten; Lau, Marianne

2016-10-28

Internet-based self-help psychotherapy (IBT) could be an important alternative or supplement to ordinary face-to-face therapy. The findings of randomised controlled trials indicate that the effects of various IBT programmes for anxiety disorders seem better than no intervention and in some instances are equivalent to usual therapy. In Denmark, IBT is part of future treatment plans in mental health care services, but the verification level of the current clinical scientific knowledge is insufficient. The objective of this trial is feasibility assessment of benefits and harms of the Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) programme FearFighter™ versus no intervention for anxiety disorders in adults. We will conduct an investigator-initiated, feasibility randomised controlled trial. Sixty-four participants are expected to be recruited via an advertisement posted on the homepage of the Student Counselling Service in Denmark. The inclusion criterion for participation in the trial will be the presence of anxiety disorder as assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The exclusion criteria will be suicidal risk, an ongoing episode of bipolar disorder or psychosis, concurrent psychological treatment for the anxiety disorder, considered unable to attend the intervention as planned (due to vacation, work/study placement, sickness, or similar occurrences), or lack of informed consent. The intervention group will be offered nine sessions with the ICBT programme FearFighter™ and a weekly telephone contact to support compliance. The control group will receive no intervention. We define the feasibility outcomes as follows: the fraction of randomised participants out of the eligible people (the lower 95 % confidence interval (CI) ≥ 50 %); and the fraction of compliant participants (those receiving at least six out of nine sessions) in the intervention group (the lower 95 % CI ≥ 60 %). The exploratory clinical outcomes are the number of participants no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder at the end of the trial and level of distress (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Symptom Checklist-90-R, WHO Well-Being Index, Sheehan Disability Scale); the number of severe adverse events; and the occurrence of any psychological treatment outside the trial. To prevent bias in design, and in the gathering and analysis of data throughout the trial, we will follow the SPIRIT 2013 statement which defines standard protocol items for clinical trials. Based on our findings, we will discuss the feasibility of a future randomised controlled trial examining the benefits and harms of FearFighter™ versus no intervention for anxiety disorders in adults. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02499055 , registered on 1 July 2015.

Relative validity of a web-based food frequency questionnaire for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Denmark

PubMed Central

Bentzen, S M R; Knudsen, V K; Christiensen, T; Ewers, B

2016-01-01

Background: Diet has an important role in the management of diabetes. However, little is known about dietary intake in Danish diabetes patients. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) focusing on most relevant nutrients in diabetes including carbohydrates, dietary fibres and simple sugars was developed and validated. Objectives: To examine the relative validity of nutrients calculated by a web-based food frequency questionnaire for patients with diabetes. Design: The FFQ was validated against a 4-day pre-coded food diary (FD). Intakes of nutrients were calculated. Means of intake were compared and cross-classifications of individuals according to intake were performed. To assess the agreement between the two methods, Pearson and Spearman's correlation coefficients and weighted kappa coefficients were calculated. Subjects: Ninety patients (64 with type 1 diabetes and 26 with type 2 diabetes) accepted to participate in the study. Twenty-six were excluded from the final study population. Setting: 64 volunteer diabetes patients at the Steno Diabetes Center. Results: Intakes of carbohydrates, simple sugars, dietary fibres and total energy were higher according to the FFQ compared with the FD. However, intakes of nutrients were grossly classified in the same or adjacent quartiles with an average of 82% of the selected nutrients when comparing the two methods. In general, moderate agreement between the two methods was found. Conclusion: The FFQ was validated for assessment of a range of nutrients. Comparing the intakes of selected nutrients (carbohydrates, dietary fibres and simple sugars), patients were classified correctly according to low and high intakes. The FFQ is a reliable dietary assessment tool to use in research and evaluation of patient education for patients with diabetes. PMID:27669176

Metagenomic analysis of faecal microbiome as a tool towards targeted non-invasive biomarkers for colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Yu, Jun; Feng, Qiang; Wong, Sunny Hei; Zhang, Dongya; Liang, Qiao Yi; Qin, Youwen; Tang, Longqing; Zhao, Hui; Stenvang, Jan; Li, Yanli; Wang, Xiaokai; Xu, Xiaoqiang; Chen, Ning; Wu, William Ka Kei; Al-Aama, Jumana; Nielsen, Hans Jørgen; Kiilerich, Pia; Jensen, Benjamin Anderschou Holbech; Yau, Tung On; Lan, Zhou; Jia, Huijue; Li, Junhua; Xiao, Liang; Lam, Thomas Yuen Tung; Ng, Siew Chien; Cheng, Alfred Sze-Lok; Wong, Vincent Wai-Sun; Chan, Francis Ka Leung; Xu, Xun; Yang, Huanming; Madsen, Lise; Datz, Christian; Tilg, Herbert; Wang, Jian; Brünner, Nils; Kristiansen, Karsten; Arumugam, Manimozhiyan; Sung, Joseph Jao-Yiu; Wang, Jun

2017-01-01

To evaluate the potential for diagnosing colorectal cancer (CRC) from faecal metagenomes. We performed metagenome-wide association studies on faecal samples from 74 patients with CRC and 54 controls from China, and validated the results in 16 patients and 24 controls from Denmark. We further validated the biomarkers in two published cohorts from France and Austria. Finally, we employed targeted quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays to evaluate diagnostic potential of selected biomarkers in an independent Chinese cohort of 47 patients and 109 controls. Besides confirming known associations of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Peptostreptococcus stomatis with CRC, we found significant associations with several species, including Parvimonas micra and Solobacterium moorei. We identified 20 microbial gene markers that differentiated CRC and control microbiomes, and validated 4 markers in the Danish cohort. In the French and Austrian cohorts, these four genes distinguished CRC metagenomes from controls with areas under the receiver-operating curve (AUC) of 0.72 and 0.77, respectively. qPCR measurements of two of these genes accurately classified patients with CRC in the independent Chinese cohort with AUC=0.84 and OR of 23. These genes were enriched in early-stage (I-II) patient microbiomes, highlighting the potential for using faecal metagenomic biomarkers for early diagnosis of CRC. We present the first metagenomic profiling study of CRC faecal microbiomes to discover and validate microbial biomarkers in ethnically different cohorts, and to independently validate selected biomarkers using an affordable clinically relevant technology. Our study thus takes a step further towards affordable non-invasive early diagnostic biomarkers for CRC from faecal samples. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The Role of Learning and Career Guidance for Managing Mid-Career Transitions--Comparing Germany and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haasler, Simone R.; Barabasch, Antje

2015-01-01

In Germany and Denmark, the systems of further education and career guidance are well developed, offering a wide range of services and learning opportunities for targeted, specific and also general skills development. Based on an empirical study with mid-career individuals in both countries, the article investigates how the different systems…

The First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Contributions from Finland.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sriraman, Bharath, Ed.; Bergsten, Christer, Ed.; Goodchild, Simon, Ed.; Palsdottir, Gudbjorg, Ed.; Sondergaard, Bettina Dahl, Ed.; Haapasalo, Lenni, Ed.

2010-01-01

The First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and contributions from Finland provides the first comprehensive and unified treatment of historical and contemporary research trends in mathematics education in the Nordic world. The book is organized in sections co-ordinated by active researchers in…

Adult Education and the Challenges of Regional Development: Policy and Sustainability in North Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Palle; Staugaard, Hans Jørgen

2016-01-01

Adult education is governed at many levels--internationally, nationally and locally. The authors of this paper look at the challenges, structures and practices of adult education policy at the local level, more specifically in North Denmark (Northern Jutland), one of the five administrative regions of the Danish nation-state. In many ways, the…

Some Aspects of Early School Leaving in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cederberg, Margareta; Hartsmar, Nanny

2013-01-01

This article describes early school leaving in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, using examples to show a complex representation of early school leaving and its consequences for young people's subsequent access to the labour market. We show how measures taken by governments and school authorities in the respective countries have resulted in…

A Cultural and Comparative Perspective on Outdoor Education in New Zealand and "Friluftsliv" in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andkjaer, Soren

2012-01-01

The paper is based on a comparative and qualitative case study of "friluftsliv" in Denmark and outdoor education in New Zealand. Cultural analysis with a comparative cultural perspective informed the research approach. Configurational analysis was used as an important supplement to focus on cultural patterns linked to bodily movement. It…

Rural life in the city: the chalet garden in Denmark

Treesearch

Amy Damin; James F. Palmer

2003-01-01

Allotment gardens with small cottages make a rural lifestyle partially available in urban areas. Temporary living quarters, combined with the tending of annual and perennial plants, let urbanites coexist with nature for a few months out of the year. This paper investigates the history and social life these gardens play in Denmark. A particular garden, Sano near...

The Seeds of Social Change from Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberson, Donald N., Jr.

N.F.S. Grundtvig was a priest, historian, poet, and founder of the Danish Folk High School. He believed that education for adults should be geared to adults and wanted schools to be independent of the church. Grundtvig was among the first to call for Denmark's schools to use the native Danish language. Grundtvig believed that each group or culture…

Denmark's National Family Guidance Program: A Preventive Mental Health Program for Children and Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Marsden

This document describes Denmark's 10-year (1965-75) program of cost-effective provision of social services to crisis families with children under the Danish 1964 Child and Youth Welfare Act. The program, voluntary and open to all families, provided preventive psychosocial services for children based on a family support system. The background to…

Situation Report--Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Honduras, Irish Republic, Malta, Romania, Spain, U.S.S.R.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in ten foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Honduras, Irish Republic, Malta, Romania, Spain, and the U.S.S.R. Information is provided, where appropriate and available, under two topics, general background and…

Preschool Teachers' View on Learning in Preschool in Sweden and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broström, Stig; Johansson, Inge; Sandberg, Anette; Frøkjaer, Thorleif

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine how preschool teachers in Sweden and Denmark perceive children's learning in preschool. The study aimed to answer the following questions: What is "learning"? How do children learn? What are the best conditions for children's learning? What is the role of participation in children's learning? The…

Socio-Cultural Innovation through and by Public Libraries in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Denmark: Concepts and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delica, Kristian; Elbeshausen, Hans

2013-01-01

Introduction: Our paper describes three examples of how public libraries in at-risk-neighbourhoods have worked with social innovations in order to develop and strengthen their services for minority groups. The libraries were chosen because they are frontrunners in the field of cultural diversity and social inclusion in Denmark. Method: The…

26 CFR 521.107 - Income from operation of ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2012-04-01 2010-04-01 true Income from operation of ships or aircraft. 521... of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.107 Income from operation of ships or aircraft. The income derived from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark by a nonresident alien who...

26 CFR 521.107 - Income from operation of ships or aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2013-04-01 2010-04-01 true Income from operation of ships or aircraft. 521... of Denmark and of Danish Corporations § 521.107 Income from operation of ships or aircraft. The income derived from the operation of ships or aircraft registered in Denmark by a nonresident alien who...

Cultural Studies and Foreign Language Teaching in Denmark. ROLIG-papir 41.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risager, Karen

A description is provided of foreign language and related cultural education (English, French, and German) in Denmark since the 1950s. The first section gives an overview of the development of Danish society in general since the second world war, and more specifically, of developments in foreign language teaching. The second section briefly…

Identification of Dermacentor reticulatus Ticks Carrying Rickettsia raoultii on Migrating Jackal, Denmark

PubMed Central

Klitgaard, Kirstine; Chriél, Mariann; Isbrand, Anastasia; Jensen, Tim K.

2017-01-01

From a migrating golden jackal (Canis aureus), we retrieved 21 live male Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, a species not previously reported from wildlife in Denmark. We identified Rickettsia raoultii from 18 (86%) of the ticks. This bacterium is associated with scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite syndrome among humans. PMID:29148376

Negotiating Policy in an Age of Globalization: Exploring Educational "Policyscapes" in Denmark, Nepal, and China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carney, Stephen

2009-01-01

This article aims to explore processes of policy implementation with respect to an ongoing empirical study in three very different sites: (1) Denmark; (2) Nepal; and (3) China. Rather than treat these investigations in the traditional manner of separate and contained national case studies, the author attempts to create a "policyscape"…

Training in the Motor Vehicle Repair and Sales Sector in Denmark. Report for the FORCE Programme. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoblauch, Jan; And Others

Training in Denmark's motor vehicle repair and sales sector was examined in a study that included the following approaches: review of the sector's structure/characteristics, institutional/social context, changing conditions and their implications for skill requirements and training, and available initial and continuing vocational education and…

Child Advocacy in Denmark: 70 Years of Experience with This "New" Idea.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Mary; Wagner, Marsden G.

Denmark's child advocacy system is made up of local kommune (county) Child and Youth Welfare Committees which watch over the well-being of children. Each child and youth committee serves as an effective advocate for the children of its community in three areas: promotion, protection, and prevention. The committee's responsibility to promote…

"Left to Your Own Devices"--The Missed Potential of Adult Career Guidance in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cort, Pia; Thomsen, Rie; Mariager-Anderson, Kristina

2015-01-01

In 2008, the European Council agreed on a Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies. The Resolution promoted lifelong guidance as a policy to support people during the multiple transitions provoked by a more volatile labour market. However, when looking into the guidance policy of Denmark, the Resolution…

Why School Choice Reforms in Denmark Fail: The Blocking Power of the Teacher Union

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiborg, Susanne; Larsen, Kristina R.

2017-01-01

This article investigates why school choice is exercised to a limited degree by parents despite major government initiatives to enhance diversity, competition and choice in the Danish education system. Denmark has had 20 years of centre-right governments, promoting choice reforms perhaps even more vigorously than the other Nordic countries, yet…

Relief Carvings: A Journey from Scandinavia to America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pandey, Annette H.

2010-01-01

The author could have chosen any ancient symbolic language, such as Egyptian or Pre-Columbian, but being from Denmark, she developed a unit that would introduce American students to artwork familiar to northern Europeans. Looking at examples of ancient art from Denmark and Sweden, students were to think about the use of symbols in ancient time and…

Caught between Internationalisation and Immigration: The Case of Nepalese Students in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valentin, Karen

2012-01-01

An explicit marketisation and national profiling of Denmark as an attractive country for foreign students has resulted in an increasing number of students from poor countries in the global South, including Nepal, being admitted to Danish colleges and universities. The influx of students from these countries has led to several accusations against…

The Children's Rights Convention in Denmark: A Status Report on Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Per Schultz; Leth, Ingrid; Montgomery, Edith

2011-01-01

Research Findings: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Denmark in 1991 but never incorporated into Danish legislation; instead the State party has chosen a stepwise implementation in legal and social praxis. However, this process mirrors a remarkable reluctance to approve the Convention as a legitimate part of…

Developmental Regression in Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Sally J.

2004-01-01

The occurrence of developmental regression in autism is one of the more puzzling features of this disorder. Although several studies have documented the validity of parental reports of regression using home videos, accumulating data suggest that most children who demonstrate regression also demonstrated previous, subtle, developmental differences.…

Detection and validation of QTLs for milky-white grains caused by high temperature during the ripening period in Japonica rice

PubMed Central

Miyahara, Katsunori; Wada, Takuya; Sonoda, Jun-ya; Tsukaguchi, Tadashi; Miyazaki, Masayuki; Tsubone, Masao; Yamaguchi, Osamu; Ishibashi, Masafumi; Iwasawa, Norio; Umemoto, Takayuki; Kondo, Motohiko

2017-01-01

The occurrence of chalky rice (Oryza sativa L.) grains caused by high temperature is a serious problem in rice production. Of the several kinds of chalky grains, milky-white grains are not well analyzed. The milky-white rice grain phenomenon is caused by genetic factors as well as environmental and nutritional conditions. To analyze the genetic control system for rice grain quality, we raised recombinant inbred lines from progeny produced from ‘Tsukushiroman’ (high temperature sensitive) and ‘Chikushi 52’ (high temperature tolerant) cultivars. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis revealed that the QTL on chromosome 4, linked to the simple sequence repeat marker RM16424, contributed substantially to the occurrence of milky-white grains, as it was detected over two experimental years. To validate the effect of the QTL, we developed near isogenic lines that have the ‘Chikushi 52’ segment on the short arm of chromosome 4 in the ‘Tsukushiroman’ genetic background, and that had a lower milky-white grain ratio than that of ‘Tsukushiroman’ when exposed to high temperatures during the ripening period. These results suggest that the ‘Chikushi 52’ allele on chromosome 4 suppresses the occurrence of milky-white grains and improves rice grain quality under heat stress during the grain ripening period. PMID:29085242

Symptoms and findings in adult-onset celiac disease in a historical Danish patient cohort.

PubMed

Schøsler, Louise; Christensen, Lisbet A; Hvas, Christian L

2016-03-01

The presentation of celiac disease (CD) has changed over the past decades. We aimed to describe the incidence of CD and its complications at diagnosis in a historical cohort in a well-defined population in Denmark. We included all patients aged 15+ years, who lived in Aarhus County, Denmark, and who were diagnosed with CD between January 2008 and August 2013. Data regarding gastrointestinal symptoms, anthropometrics, biochemistry, and bone mineral density were retrieved from patient records. A total of 93 patients with a valid CD diagnosis were identified, corresponding to an incidence rate of 6.4 per 100,000 person-years. At diagnosis, diarrhea and weight loss occurred in 54% and 47% patients, respectively. In total, 30% had anemia; 40%, iron deficiency; 20%, folate deficiency; and 17%, vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency was present in 34%. In 28%, bone mineral density was determined during the first year after diagnosis. Of these, 54% had osteopenia and 12% osteoporosis. After introduction of a gluten-free diet, 28% had normalized transglutaminase antibody levels after 6 months, and 56% did after 12 months. Diabetes mellitus type 1 was present in 7%; dermatitis herpetiformis, in 3%; and thyroid dysfunction, in 5%. Only half of newly diagnosed CD patients presented with classic gastrointestinal symptoms. Anemia and vitamin deficiencies were common. Bone mineral density was determined in less than a third of the patients, and osteoporosis occurred in 12% of these. Serologic markers of CD normalized in approximately half of patients during the first year after the diagnosis.

The Danish Organic Action Plan 2020: assessment method and baseline status of organic procurement in public kitchens.

PubMed

Sørensen, Nina N; Lassen, Anne D; Løje, Hanne; Tetens, Inge

2015-09-01

With political support from the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020, organic public procurement in Denmark is expected to increase. In order to evaluate changes in organic food procurement in Danish public kitchens, reliable methods are needed. The present study aimed to compare organic food procurement measurements by two methods and to collect and discuss baseline organic food procurement measurements from public kitchens participating in the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020. Comparison study measuring organic food procurement by applying two different methods, one based on the use of procurement invoices (the Organic Cuisine Label method) and the other on self-reported procurement (the Dogme method). Baseline organic food procurement status was based on organic food procurement measurements and background information from public kitchens. Public kitchens participating in the six organic food conversion projects funded by the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020 during 2012 and 2013. Twenty-six public kitchens (comparison study) and 345 public kitchens (baseline organic food procurement status). A high significant correlation coefficient was found between the two organic food procurement measurement methods (r=0·83, P<0·001) with measurements relevant for the baseline status. Mean baseline organic food procurement was found to be 24 % when including measurements from both methods. The results indicate that organic food procurement measurements by both methods were valid for the baseline status report of the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020. Baseline results in Danish public kitchens suggest there is room for more organic as well as sustainable public procurement in Denmark.

Scandinavian systems monitoring the oral health in children and adolescents; an evaluation of their quality and utility in the light of modern perspectives of caries management.

PubMed

Skeie, Marit S; Klock, Kristin S

2014-04-30

Recording reliable oral health data is a challenge. The aims were a) to outline different Scandinavian systems of oral health monitoring, b) to evaluate the quality and utility of the collected data in the light of modern concepts of disease management and to suggest improvements. The information for in this study was related to (a) children and adolescents, (b) oral health data and (c) routines for monitoring such data. This meant information available in the official web sites of the "KOSTRA-data" (Municipality-State-Report) in Norway, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare ("Socialstyrelsen") and Oral Health Register (the SCOR system, National Board of Health) in Denmark. A potential for increasing the reliability and validity of the data existed. Routines for monitoring other oral diseases than caries were limited. Compared with the other Scandinavian countries, the data collection system in Denmark appeared more functional and had adopted more modern concepts of disease management than other systems. In the light of modern concepts of caries management, data collected elsewhere had limited utility. The Scandinavian systems of health reporting had much in common, but some essential differences existed. If the quality of epidemiological data were enhanced, it would be possible to use the data for planning oral health care. Routines and procedures should be improved and updated in accordance with the modern ideas about caries prevention and therapy. For appropriate oral health planning in an organised dental service, reporting of enamel caries is essential.

Survival of ovarian cancer patients in Denmark: excess mortality risk analysis of five-year relative survival in the period 1978-2002.

PubMed

Hannibal, Charlotte Gerd; Cortes, Rikke; Engholm, Gerda; Kjaer, Susanne Krüger

2008-01-01

To explore the variation in ovarian cancer survival in Denmark in the period 1978-2002 in relation to time since diagnosis, age at diagnosis, period of diagnosis, stage and histology. Register-based cohort study. Denmark in the period 1978-2002. Using the nationwide Danish Cancer Registry, we included a total of 13,035 women diagnosed with invasive ovarian cancer in Denmark in the period 1978-2002. Excess mortality risk analyses of five-year relative survival of ovarian cancer patients diagnosed in the period 1978-2002 with follow-up through 2006 were made based on data from the NORDCAN database. Five-year relative survival, excess mortality rate (ER) and relative excess mortality risk (RER) after an ovarian cancer diagnosis. The relative survival of Danish ovarian cancer patients slightly increased in the period 1978-2002. The ERs were highest in the first year following diagnosis, in particular in the first three months, and among older patients, even for localized and regional tumors. The pattern remained the same when stratified by histological subgroup. Older age at diagnosis, earlier period of diagnosis, more advanced stage at diagnosis and being diagnosed with undifferentiated carcinoma predicted poorer survival among Danish ovarian cancer patients diagnosed in the period 1978-2002. The survival of Danish ovarian cancer patients has slightly increased from 1978 through 2002. Despite this, the mortality rate of ovarian cancer in Denmark is still higher than in the other Nordic countries. Explanations for these differences are still to be identified.

Use of Topical Tacrolimus and Topical Pimecrolimus in Four European Countries: A Multicentre Database Cohort Study.

PubMed

Kuiper, Josephina G; van Herk-Sukel, Myrthe P P; Castellsague, Jordi; Pottegård, Anton; Berglind, Ingegärd Anveden; Dedman, Daniel; Gutierrez, Lia; Calingaert, Brian; Hallas, Jesper; Sundström, Anders; Gallagher, Arlene M; Kaye, James A; Pardo, Carolina; Rothman, Kenneth J; Perez-Gutthann, Susana

2018-05-07

Despite the concerns about a potential increased risk of skin cancer and lymphoma with the use of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, no population-based studies have given an overview of the use of these drugs in Europe. To assess the use of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus in children and adults in Europe. Multicentre database cohort study comprising data from the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and the UK. We analysed users of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus starting from the date of first availability (between 2002 and 2003) or start establishment of the prescription database in Sweden (2006) through 2011. Use was assessed separately for children (≤ 18 years) and adults. 32,052 children and 104,902 adults were treated with topical tacrolimus, and 32,125 children and 58,280 adults were treated with topical pimecrolimus. The number of users increased rapidly after first availability, especially for topical tacrolimus. Topical tacrolimus was more frequently used in all countries except Denmark. For both drugs, there was a decrease in users after 2004 in the Netherlands and Denmark and after 2005 in the UK, especially among children. This decrease was largest in Denmark. The decrease in the number of users was temporary for topical tacrolimus, while use remained relatively low for topical pimecrolimus. The number of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus users increased rapidly after regulatory approval. A transient reduction in topical tacrolimus use and a persistent reduction in topical pimecrolimus use was seen after 2004 in the Netherlands and Denmark and after 2005 in the UK.

Ophthalmic nepafenac use in the Netherlands and Denmark.

PubMed

Margulis, Andrea V; Houben, Eline; Hallas, Jesper; Overbeek, Jetty A; Pottegård, Anton; Torp-Pedersen, Tobias; Perez-Gutthann, Susana; Arana, Alejandro

2017-08-01

To describe nepafenac use in the Netherlands and Denmark with reference to its approved indications. For context, we also describe the use of ketorolac and diclofenac. We identified users in the PHARMO Database Network (the Netherlands, 2008-2013) and the Danish national health registers (Denmark, 1994-2014). We described prevalence of cataract surgery and duration of use in patients with cataract surgery with and without diabetes. In the Netherlands, 9530 nepafenac users (mean age, 71 years; 60% women) contributed 12 691 therapy episodes, of which 21% had a recently recorded cataract surgery. Of 2266 episodes in adult non-diabetic patients with cataract surgery, 60% had one bottle dispensed (treatment duration ≤21 days). Of 441 episodes in adult diabetic patients with cataract surgery, 90% had up to two bottles dispensed (≤60 days). Denmark had 60 403 nepafenac users (mean age, 72 years; 58% women) and 73 648 episodes (41% had recorded cataract surgery). Of 26 649 nepafenac episodes in adult non-diabetic patients with cataract surgery, 92% had one bottle dispensed. Of 3801 episodes in adult diabetic patients with cataract surgery, 99.8% had up to two bottles dispensed. Use patterns of nepafenac, ketorolac and diclofenac were roughly similar in the Netherlands, but not in Denmark. Less than half of therapy episodes were related to cataract surgery; around 90% of episodes with surgery were within the approved duration. Underrecording of ophthalmic conditions and procedures was a challenge in this study. © 2017 The Authors Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

Fitness cost: a bacteriological explanation for the demise of the first international methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus epidemic.

PubMed

Nielsen, Karen L; Pedersen, Thomas M; Udekwu, Klas I; Petersen, Andreas; Skov, Robert L; Hansen, Lars H; Hughes, Diarmaid; Frimodt-Møller, Niels

2012-06-01

Denmark and several other countries experienced the first epidemic of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the period 1965-75, which was caused by multiresistant isolates of phage complex 83A. In Denmark these MRSA isolates disappeared almost completely, being replaced by other phage types, predominantly only penicillin resistant. We investigated whether isolates of this epidemic were associated with a fitness cost, and we employed a mathematical model to ask whether these fitness costs could have led to the observed reduction in frequency. Bacteraemia isolates of S. aureus from Denmark have been stored since 1957. We chose 40 S. aureus isolates belonging to phage complex 83A, clonal complex 8 based on spa type, ranging in time of isolation from 1957 to 1980 and with various antibiograms, including both methicillin-resistant and -susceptible isolates. The relative fitness of each isolate was determined in a growth competition assay with a reference isolate. Significant fitness costs of 2%-15% were determined for the MRSA isolates studied. There was a significant negative correlation between number of antibiotic resistances and relative fitness. Multiple regression analysis found significantly independent negative correlations between fitness and the presence of mecA or streptomycin resistance. Mathematical modelling confirmed that fitness costs of the magnitude carried by these isolates could result in the disappearance of MRSA prevalence during a time span similar to that seen in Denmark. We propose a significant fitness cost of resistance as the main bacteriological explanation for the disappearance of the multiresistant complex 83A MRSA in Denmark following a reduction in antibiotic usage.

Root causes occurrence of low BIM adoption in Malaysia: System dynamics modelling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamter, Shahela; Aziz, Abdul Rashid Abdul; Zulkepli, Jafri

2017-11-01

The global implementation of BIM in the construction field is increasing worldwide. Due to the advantages offered by BIM, its implementation is considered important in the construction projects. Nevertheless, the Construction Industry Transformation Plan has reported that the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Malaysia is still low and it is estimated at only 10 percent adoption amongst construction stake players. The barriers influencing the occurrence of low adoption BIM in Malaysia have been studied by some researchers. However, these researchers did not investigate the root causes which might lead to the recurring of the barriers to BIM adoption. Root causes that immediately occurrence of barriers, also known as precipitants or trigger causes. This conceptual paper developed the causal loop diagram (CLD) which presents the relationship between the perceived variables using system dynamic modelling approach. The findings revealed a novelty validated diagrams that design the holistic dynamic relationship on the root causes occurrence of low BIM adoption. Nonetheless, the diagram subject to more empirical testing for its practicability and further refinement upon more results expected to emerge as the research progresses.

26 CFR 521.108 - Exemption from, or reduction in rate of, United States tax in the case of dividends, interest and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations... dividends received from sources within the United States by (i) a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary and partnership) who is a resident of Denmark, or (ii) a Danish corporation...

26 CFR 521.108 - Exemption from, or reduction in rate of, United States tax in the case of dividends, interest and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations... dividends received from sources within the United States by (i) a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary and partnership) who is a resident of Denmark, or (ii) a Danish corporation...

26 CFR 521.108 - Exemption from, or reduction in rate of, United States tax in the case of dividends, interest and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations... dividends received from sources within the United States by (i) a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary and partnership) who is a resident of Denmark, or (ii) a Danish corporation...

26 CFR 521.108 - Exemption from, or reduction in rate of, United States tax in the case of dividends, interest and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations... dividends received from sources within the United States by (i) a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary and partnership) who is a resident of Denmark, or (ii) a Danish corporation...

26 CFR 521.108 - Exemption from, or reduction in rate of, United States tax in the case of dividends, interest and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... General Income Tax Taxation of Nonresident Aliens Who Are Residents of Denmark and of Danish Corporations... dividends received from sources within the United States by (i) a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary and partnership) who is a resident of Denmark, or (ii) a Danish corporation...

Teaching Power Electronics with a Design-Oriented, Project-Based Learning Method at the Technical University of Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Zhe; Hansen, Claus Thorp; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2016-01-01

Power electronics is a fast-developing technology within the electrical engineering field. This paper presents the results and experiences gained from applying design-oriented project-based learning to switch-mode power supply design in a power electronics course at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Project-based learning (PBL) is known…

Survey of the State-of-the-Art and Likely Future Trends of University Management in Europe: Denmark-Ireland-Norway-Sweden-United Kingdom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockwood, G.; Prosser, E.

Trends in university management in Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom were studied as part of a larger study of European universities. The survey instrument collected information on basic facts on the institution, the organizational system, the decision-making system, the administrative structure, management techniques and…

Capacity Building: Data- and Research-Informed Development of Schools and Teaching Practices in Denmark and Norway

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qvortrup, Lars

2016-01-01

Based on experiences from a number of large scale data- and research-informed school development projects in Denmark and Norway, led by the author, three hypotheses are discussed: that an effective way of linking research and practice is achieved (1) using a capacity building approach, that is, to collaborate in the practical school context…

From Apprenticeships to Higher Vocational Education in Denmark--Building Bridges While the Gap Is Widening

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jørgensen, Christian Helms

2017-01-01

Upper secondary vocational education in Denmark is based on the apprenticeship model, which is recognised as a valuable route to employment for young people, who are not aiming for higher education. However, the apprenticeship model has a major weakness: it does not provide eligibility for higher education. The purpose of this article is to…

Comparative Study of Teaching Content in Teacher Education Programmes in Canada, Denmark, Finland and Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Jens; Bayer, Martin

2014-01-01

This article presents the results of a comparative study of the content in selected teacher education programmes for primary and lower secondary teachers in Canada, Denmark, Finland and Singapore. First and foremost, the study is a comparison between teacher education programmes in, on the one hand, Canada, Finland and Singapore, all of which…

Draft Genome Sequences of Two Kocuria Isolates, K. salsicia G1 and K. rhizophila G2, Isolated from a Slaughterhouse in Denmark

PubMed Central

Herschend, Jakob; Raghupathi, Prem K.; Røder, Henriette L.; Sørensen, Søren J.

2016-01-01

We report here the draft genome sequences of Kocuria salsicia G1 and Kocuria rhizophila G2, which were isolated from a meat chopper at a small slaughterhouse in Denmark. The two annotated genomes are 2.99 Mb and 2.88 Mb in size, respectively. PMID:27034479

Gendered Time-Crunch and Work Factors in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deding, Mette; Lausten, Mette

2011-01-01

Being crunched for time is an important aspect of life quality. Although Denmark is a country known for gender-equality, on average mothers are more time-crunched than fathers. We show this using a representative sample of Danish dual-earner couples with at least one child aged 0-10 years. We analyze the determinants of time-crunch in relation to…

The Danish Folk High Schools. Bulletin, 1914, No. 22. Whole Number 595

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foght, H. W.

1914-01-01

This bulletin contains the third section of Harold W. Foght's report on the rural schools of Denmark. This section of the report pertains almost wholly to the folk high schools, which have by common consent been the most important factor in the transformation in the rural life of Denmark and in the phenomenal economic and social development of…

75 FR 9207 - Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-01

... the purchase of a GrundFos SQ Flex 6 SQF- 2 solar powered submersible pump system with control and solar panels (pump system) manufactured in Denmark by GrundFos. This is a project specific waiver and... powered submersible pump system with control and solar panels (pump system) manufactured in Denmark by...

Studies in the Major Modern Languages (English, German, French) at University Level in Denmark by 1980/81.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dollerup, Cay

This is a descriptive outline of the language situation in the Danish education system. The introductory material discusses the reason for foreign language study. A major reason is that Denmark is a small country with a difficult native language for speakers of other languages to learn. Therefore, the Danish population is exposed to foreign…

Social Welfare and Minding the Achievement Gap: A View from Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ringsmose, Charlotte

2012-01-01

In Denmark, the welfare system has evened out the gaps between rich and poor. Schools and child care settings all over the country have an equal level of resources provided by the state, and are financed through taxes. Schools and child care settings in areas with families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) get extra money and resources. All…

Mycobacterium chimaera in Heater-Cooler Units in Denmark Related to Isolates from the United States and United Kingdom.

PubMed

Svensson, Erik; Jensen, Elsebeth Tvenstrup; Rasmussen, Erik Michael; Folkvardsen, Dorte Bek; Norman, Anders; Lillebaek, Troels

2017-03-01

Mycobacterium chimaera was present at high rates (>80%) in heater-cooler units (HCUs) from all 5 thoracic surgery departments in Denmark. Isolates were clonal to HCU-associated isolates from the United States (including some from patients) and United Kingdom. However, M. chimaera from 2 brands of HCU were genetically distinct.

Contesting Discourses about Physical Education: A Critical Discourse Analysis of 20 Textbooks Used in Physical Education Teacher Education in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svendsen, Annemari Munk; Svendsen, Jesper Tinggaard

2017-01-01

This article investigates and problematises how contesting discourses about Physical Education (PE) as a school subject are immersed within textbooks used in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) in Denmark. The paper considers PETE textbooks as powerful documents that construct and maintain discourses about PE, and at the same time as…

Using English as a Medium of Instruction at University Level in Denmark: The Lecturer's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werther, Charlotte; Denver, Louise; Jensen, Christian; Mees, Inger M.

2014-01-01

More than 25% of the master's degrees in Denmark are taught using English as a medium of instruction (EMI), but not all university lecturers feel they have the appropriate academic English proficiency to meet the standard required. Based on interviews conducted at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), this article sheds light on the challenges…

Training in the Food and Beverages Sector in Denmark. Report for the FORCE Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holst, Ole

A study of the food sector in Denmark was limited to the slaughterhouse, dairy, beverages sectors. The food sector was the most important single industry in the Danish economy. It was the largest manufacturing sector, generated one-third of total manufacturing, and comprised approximately 8 percent of the total Danish gross domestic product. It…

Neo-Liberalism and Universal State Education: The Cases of Denmark, Norway and Sweden 1980-2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiborg, Susanne

2013-01-01

This article investigates neo-liberal policy on education in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Traditionally, the edifice of the education system in these Scandinavian countries has been built on egalitarian values, but over the last 20 years they have increasingly adopted market-led reforms of education. The extent of neo-liberal policy varies between…

Phenotypic differences between BCG vaccines at the proteome level.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Alvarez, Mauricio; Mendoza-Hernández, Guillermo; Encarnación, Sergio; Calva, Juan José; López-Vidal, Yolanda

2009-03-01

To contribute to Mycobacterium bovis BCG characterization, two substrains were analyzed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and mass spectrometry (MS), based on their protective efficacy in a pulmonary-tuberculosis mouse model. Cell-fraction proteins of BCG Denmark and Phipps substrains were separated into approximately 500 spots in 2D-PAGE. The proteomes were similar in protein number, and isoelectric point (pI) and molecular mass (MM) distribution. Statistical analysis, resulted in 72 spots with no change, and 168 and 90 unique for BCG Phipps or Denmark, respectively. Two hundred and fourteen spots showed changes in intensity of >1-fold, 138 of Denmark, and 76 of Phipps. Seventeen spots were selected for MS-based identification (13 from Phipps and 4 from Denmark), including unique, as well as proteins with changes in intensity. The proteins identified participate in virulence, detoxification, adaptation, lipid metabolism, information pathways, cell wall and cell processes, intermediary metabolism and respiration, or still hypotheticals. Our findings contribute to phenotype characterization of BCG substrains and provide new elements to consider for the design of diagnostic tools, drug targets and a new vaccine against tuberculosis based upon protein expression through quantitative statistical analysis.

Health Effects of Unemployment in Denmark, Norway and Sweden 2007-2010: Differing Economic Conditions, Differing Results?

PubMed

Heggebø, Kristian

2016-07-01

This article investigates short-term health effects of unemployment for individuals in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden during an economic downturn (2007-2010) that hit the Scandinavian countries with diverging strength. The longitudinal part of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data material is analyzed, and results from generalized least squares estimation indicate that Denmark is the only Scandinavian country in which health status deteriorated among the unemployed. The individual-level (and calendar year) fixed-effect results confirm the negative relationship between unemployment and health status in Denmark. This result is robust across different subsamples, model specifications, and changes in both the dependent and independent variable. Health status deteriorated especially among women and people in prime working age (30-59 years). There is, however, only scant evidence of short-term health effects among the recently unemployed in Norway and Sweden. The empirical findings are discussed in light of: (1) the adequacy of the unemployment insurance system, (2) the likelihood of re-employment for the displaced worker, and (3) selection patterns into and out of employment in the years preceding and during the economic downturn. © The Author(s) 2016.

Contribution of maternal age to preterm birth rates in Denmark and Quebec, 1981-2008.

PubMed

Auger, Nathalie; Hansen, Anne V; Mortensen, Laust

2013-10-01

We sought evidence to support the hypothesis that advancing maternal age is potentially causing a rise in preterm birth (PTB) rates in high-income countries. We assessed maternal age-specific trends in PTB using all singleton live births in Denmark (n = 1 674 308) and Quebec (n = 2 291 253) from 1981 to 2008. We decomposed the country-specific contributions of age-specific PTB rates and maternal age distribution to overall PTB rates over time. PTB rates increased from 4.4% to 5.0% in Denmark and from 5.1% to 6.0% in Quebec. Rates increased the most in women aged 20 to 29 years, whereas rates decreased or remained stable in women aged 35 years and older. The overall increase over time was driven by age-specific PTB rates, although the contribution of younger women was countered by fewer births at this age in both Denmark and Quebec. PTB rates increased among women aged 20 to 29 years, but their contribution to the overall PTB rates was offset by older maternal age over time. Women aged 20 to 29 years should be targeted to reduce PTB rates, as potential for prevention may be greater in this age group.

Existing data sources for clinical epidemiology: Aarhus University Clinical Trial Candidate Database, Denmark.

PubMed

Nørrelund, Helene; Mazin, Wiktor; Pedersen, Lars

2014-01-01

Denmark is facing a reduction in clinical trial activity as the pharmaceutical industry has moved trials to low-cost emerging economies. Competitiveness in industry-sponsored clinical research depends on speed, quality, and cost. Because Denmark is widely recognized as a region that generates high quality data, an enhanced ability to attract future trials could be achieved if speed can be improved by taking advantage of the comprehensive national and regional registries. A "single point-of-entry" system has been established to support collaboration between hospitals and industry. When assisting industry in early-stage feasibility assessments, potential trial participants are identified by use of registries to shorten the clinical trial startup times. The Aarhus University Clinical Trial Candidate Database consists of encrypted data from the Danish National Registry of Patients allowing an immediate estimation of the number of patients with a specific discharge diagnosis in each hospital department or outpatient specialist clinic in the Central Denmark Region. The free access to health care, thorough monitoring of patients who are in contact with the health service, completeness of registration at the hospital level, and ability to link all databases are competitive advantages in an increasingly complex clinical trial environment.

University Performance Evaluations: What Are We Really Measuring?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedggood, Rowan E.; Donovan, Jerome D.

2012-01-01

Surveying students to garner feedback on teaching and subject quality is a common occurrence in many universities globally. Despite the criticisms surrounding whether measures associated with these surveys are indeed valid, university managers continue to utilise them in key decision making. These surveys mirror business practices where measuring…

Reproducibility and relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire to estimate intake of dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Several observational studies have investigated the relation of dietary phylloquinone and menaquinone intake with occurrence of chronic diseases. Most of these studies relied on food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to estimate the intake of phylloquinone and menaquinones. However, none of...

QUANTIFICATION OF ENTEROVIRUS AND HEPATITIS A VIRUSES IN WELLS AND SPRINGS IN EAST TENNESSEE USING REAL-TIME REVERSE TRANSCIPTION PCR

EPA Science Inventory

This project involves development, validation testing and application of a fast, efficient method of quantitatively measuring occurrence and concentration of common human viral pathogens, enterovirus and hepatitis A virus, in ground water samples using real-time reverse transcrip...

Eating Disorder Inventory-3, validation in Swedish patients with eating disorders, psychiatric outpatients and a normal control sample.

PubMed

Nyman-Carlsson, Erika; Engström, Ingemar; Norring, Claes; Nevonen, Lauri

2015-02-01

The Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) is designed to assess eating disorder psychopathology and the associated psychological symptoms. The instrument has been revised and has not yet been validated for Swedish conditions in its current form. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of this inventory and present national norms for Swedish females. Data from patients with eating disorders (n = 292), psychiatric outpatients (n = 140) and normal controls (n = 648), all females, were used to study the internal consistency, the discriminative ability, and the sensitivity and specificity of the inventory using preliminary cut-offs for each subscale and diagnosis separately. Swedish norms were compared with those from Denmark, USA, Canada, Europe and Australian samples. The reliability was acceptable for all subscales except Asceticism among normal controls. Analysis of variance showed that the EDI-3 discriminates significantly between eating disorders and normal controls. Anorexia nervosa was significantly discriminated from bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified on the Eating Disorder Risk Scales. Swedish patients scored significantly lower than patients from other countries on the majority of the subscales. Drive for Thinness is the second best predictor for an eating disorder. The best predictor for anorexia nervosa was Interoceptive Deficits and Bulimia for the other diagnoses. Conclusions/clinical implications: The EDI-3 is valid for use with Swedish patients as a clinical assessment tool for the treatment planning and evaluation of patients with eating-related problems. However, it still exist some uncertainty regarding its use as a screening tool.

A Long-Term Follow-Up of the Efficacy of Nature-Based Therapy for Adults Suffering from Stress-Related Illnesses on Levels of Healthcare Consumption and Sick-Leave Absence: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Corazon, Sus Sola; Nyed, Patrik Karlsson; Sidenius, Ulrik; Poulsen, Dorthe Varning; Stigsdotter, Ulrika Karlsson

2018-01-15

Stress-related illnesses are a growing health problem in the Western world; which also has economic significance for society. As a consequence; there is a growing demand for effective treatments. The study investigates the long-term efficacy of the Nacadia ® nature-based therapy (NNBT) by comparing it to the efficacy of a validated cognitive behavioral therapy, called STreSS. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial in which 84 participants are randomly allocated between the treatments. Long-term efficacy is investigated through data extracts from the national database of Statistics Denmark on the sick leave and the health-care consumption. The results show that both the NNBT and the STreSS lead to a significant decrease in number of contacts with a general practitioner in the period from twelve months prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment; and, a significant decrease in long-term sick leave from the month prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment. The positive long-term effects provide validation for the NNBT as an efficient treatment of stress-related illnesses.

A Long-Term Follow-Up of the Efficacy of Nature-Based Therapy for Adults Suffering from Stress-Related Illnesses on Levels of Healthcare Consumption and Sick-Leave Absence: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Corazon, Sus Sola; Nyed, Patrik Karlsson; Sidenius, Ulrik

2018-01-01

Stress-related illnesses are a growing health problem in the Western world; which also has economic significance for society. As a consequence; there is a growing demand for effective treatments. The study investigates the long-term efficacy of the Nacadia® nature-based therapy (NNBT) by comparing it to the efficacy of a validated cognitive behavioral therapy, called STreSS. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial in which 84 participants are randomly allocated between the treatments. Long-term efficacy is investigated through data extracts from the national database of Statistics Denmark on the sick leave and the health-care consumption. The results show that both the NNBT and the STreSS lead to a significant decrease in number of contacts with a general practitioner in the period from twelve months prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment; and, a significant decrease in long-term sick leave from the month prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment. The positive long-term effects provide validation for the NNBT as an efficient treatment of stress-related illnesses. PMID:29342952

LMFAO! Humor as a Response to Fear: Decomposing Fear Control within the Extended Parallel Process Model

PubMed Central

Abril, Eulàlia P.; Szczypka, Glen; Emery, Sherry L.

2017-01-01

This study seeks to analyze fear control responses to the 2012 Tips from Former Smokers campaign using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). The goal is to examine the occurrence of ancillary fear control responses, like humor. In order to explore individuals’ responses in an organic setting, we use Twitter data—tweets—collected via the Firehose. Content analysis of relevant fear control tweets (N = 14,281) validated the existence of boomerang responses within the EPPM: denial, defensive avoidance, and reactance. More importantly, results showed that humor tweets were not only a significant occurrence but constituted the majority of fear control responses. PMID:29527092

Artificial neural networks predict the incidence of portosplenomesenteric venous thrombosis in patients with acute pancreatitis.

PubMed

Fei, Y; Hu, J; Li, W-Q; Wang, W; Zong, G-Q

2017-03-01

Essentials Predicting the occurrence of portosplenomesenteric vein thrombosis (PSMVT) is difficult. We studied 72 patients with acute pancreatitis. Artificial neural networks modeling was more accurate than logistic regression in predicting PSMVT. Additional predictive factors may be incorporated into artificial neural networks. Objective To construct and validate artificial neural networks (ANNs) for predicting the occurrence of portosplenomesenteric venous thrombosis (PSMVT) and compare the predictive ability of the ANNs with that of logistic regression. Methods The ANNs and logistic regression modeling were constructed using simple clinical and laboratory data of 72 acute pancreatitis (AP) patients. The ANNs and logistic modeling were first trained on 48 randomly chosen patients and validated on the remaining 24 patients. The accuracy and the performance characteristics were compared between these two approaches by SPSS17.0 software. Results The training set and validation set did not differ on any of the 11 variables. After training, the back propagation network training error converged to 1 × 10 -20 , and it retained excellent pattern recognition ability. When the ANNs model was applied to the validation set, it revealed a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 85.7%, a positive predictive value of 77.6% and negative predictive value of 90.7%. The accuracy was 83.3%. Differences could be found between ANNs modeling and logistic regression modeling in these parameters (10.0% [95% CI, -14.3 to 34.3%], 14.3% [95% CI, -8.6 to 37.2%], 15.7% [95% CI, -9.9 to 41.3%], 11.8% [95% CI, -8.2 to 31.8%], 22.6% [95% CI, -1.9 to 47.1%], respectively). When ANNs modeling was used to identify PSMVT, the area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.849 (95% CI, 0.807-0.901), which demonstrated better overall properties than logistic regression modeling (AUC = 0.716) (95% CI, 0.679-0.761). Conclusions ANNs modeling was a more accurate tool than logistic regression in predicting the occurrence of PSMVT following AP. More clinical factors or biomarkers may be incorporated into ANNs modeling to improve its predictive ability. © 2016 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Organized medicine and Scandinavian professional unionism: hospital policies and exit options in Denmark and Sweden.

PubMed

Heidenheimer, A J; Johansen, L N

1985-01-01

Strikes by junior hospital doctors over the issue of on-call remuneration in Denmark and Sweden in 1981 are analyzed to clarify the impact of public-sector cost-control policies on intra- and interprofessional solidarity within the Scandinavian professional peak associations. The junior doctors' grievances could find expression either through increased "voice" within the medical negotiating machinery, or by pursuing the exit option in having the medical associations quit the peak associations. The article explains why the "exit" option was selected in Denmark, while in Sweden the granting of additional voice helped persuade the medical association to withdraw its exit threat and to remain within the peak association. The two cases are interpreted as presaging a divergence in the paths being taken by the various Scandinavian welfare states.

Beyond motivation: on what it means to be a sperm donor in Denmark

PubMed Central

Mohr, Sebastian

2014-01-01

This paper, analyzing interviews with men that donate their semen in Denmark, explores what it means to be a sperm donor. Breaking with the assumption that men have a specific and clearly identifiable motivation to become sperm donors, this paper leaves the confinement of such an accountable actor model implied in asking for men's motivations to donate semen. Instead, the author describes the experiences of sperm donors to show how the moral, organizational, and biomedical-technological context of sperm donation in Denmark makes for enactments of moral selves as well as specific embodiments of masculinity. Instead of looking for motivations that can be accounted for, the author engages with the question of how donating semen affords men the experience of moral and gendered selves. PMID:25175292

Spatial variability of drinking water iodine in Denmark: implications for future policy making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voutchkova, Denitza; Ernstsen, Vibeke; Kristiansen, Søren; Hansen, Birgitte

2014-05-01

The iodine-an essential component of human thyroid hormones-is provided to our organisms naturally from the food and water and/or is added artificially to the diet. One of the major natural contributors to the dietary iodine intake in Denmark is the drinking water. Both insufficient or excessive iodine intake can cause health problems however the attention falls mainly on the iodine deficiency (ID). Denmark is classified to have mild ID, which is based on sub-national data only. On a bigger scale, in Europe, about 40% of the general population is estimated to suffer from insufficient iodine intake (based on recent update on the iodine status worldwide). A mandatory addition of iodine to the salt was introduced in 2001 in Denmark to address the population's mild deficiency. One of the components of the Danish monitoring program investigating the effect of the salt iodizing (DanThyr) was based on the geographical variation of drinking water iodine levels. More specifically, the location of the two DanThyr cohort studies was chosen to reflect the low concentrations in the western part of Denmark and higher concentration in the eastern part. However, the knowledge about the spatial variability of iodine in Danish ground- and drinking water at that time was quite limited and misrepresentation of the natural variability is suspected. The presented sampling campaign was completed in 2013, and includes 144 waterworks with annual abstraction of about 175 mio m3 groundwater (~45% of the total groundwater abstraction by all active public and private Danish waterworks). The results show a surprisingly complex spatial pattern concerning both the iodine concentrations and speciation. By estimating the dietary iodine intake from water and comparing it to the WHO recommendations, it becomes possible to recognize potentially deficient/excessive geographical areas. Moreover, it is demonstrated that drinking water iodine levels (major dietary iodine contributor in Denmark) can be used as a proxy for the ID status of the population in countries such Denmark, where there is no recent nationwide survey or monitoring program following up the population's iodine status on a national level. Not only can the outcome of this project facilitate the design of future epidemiological studies, but also support policy making in the area of ID prevention and water management as it fills a knowledge gap for drinking water iodine speciation and variation in connection to both spatial distribution and human health.

Mental disorders in primary care: prevalence and co-morbidity among disorders. results from the functional illness in primary care (FIP) study.

PubMed

Toft, Tomas; Fink, Per; Oernboel, Eva; Christensen, Kaj; Frostholm, Lisbeth; Olesen, Frede

2005-08-01

Prevalence and co-occurrence of mental disorders is high among patients consulting their family general practitioner (GP) for a new health problem, but data on diagnostics and socio-demographics are sketchy. A cross-sectional two-phase epidemiological study. A total of 1785 consecutive patients with new complaints, aged 18-65 years, consulting 28 family practices during March-April 2000 in Aarhus County, Denmark were screened, in the waiting room, for mental and somatic symptoms with SCL-8 and SCL-Somatization questionnaires, for illness worry with Whitely-7 and for alcohol dependency with CAGE. In a stratified random sample of 701 patients, physician interviewers established ICD-10 diagnoses using the SCAN interview. Prevalence was calculated using weighted logistic regression, thus correcting for sample skewness. Half of the patients fulfilled criteria for an ICD-10 mental disorders and a third of these for more than one group of disorders. Women had higher prevalence of somatization disorder and overall mental disorders than men. Men had higher prevalence of alcohol abuse and hypochondriasis than women. Psychiatric morbidity tended to increase with age. Prevalence of somatoform disorders was 35.9% (95% CI 30.4-41.9), anxiety disorders 164% (95% CI 12.7-20.9), mood disorders 13.5% (95% CI 11.1-16.3), organic mental disorders 3.1% (95% CI 1.6-5.7) and alcohol abuse 2.2% (95% CI 1.5-3.1). Co-morbidities between these groups were highest for anxiety disorders, where 89% also had another mental diagnosis, and lowest for somatoform disorders with 39%. ICD-10 mental disorders are very prevalent in primary care and there is a high co-occurrence between most disorders. Somatoform disorders, however, more often than not exist without other mental disorders.

Danish Observational Study of Eldercare work and musculoskeletal disorderS (DOSES): a prospective study at 20 nursing homes in Denmark

PubMed Central

Karstad, Kristina; Jørgensen, Anette F B; Greiner, Birgit A; Burdorf, Alex; Søgaard, Karen; Rugulies, Reiner; Holtermann, Andreas

2018-01-01

Purpose Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), sickness absence and premature retirement are highly prevalent among eldercare workers. We conducted a prospective observational workplace study with the main purpose to investigate longitudinal associations between physical and psychosocial working conditions and occurrence of MSD and its consequences (pain-related interference with daily work activities and sickness absence) among Danish eldercare workers. Participants At 20 Danish nursing homes, a total of 941 eldercare workers employed in day and evening shifts were invited to the study. Of those, 553 participated in the baseline measurements, and 441 completed the total period of 12 months follow-up. Findings to date Data were collected from September 2013 to January 2016. Physical and psychosocial working conditions were assessed with multiple methods (observations, accelerometer measurements and work schedules), and multiple levels of information (nursing home, ward, resident and eldercare worker) were incorporated in the data collection. MSD and the consequences hereof were assessed monthly during a 1-year follow-up. Study participants and non-participants were comparable on most of the 27 sociodemographic, health and working condition characteristics at baseline. The exceptions were higher neck–shoulder pain intensity, less sickness absence, more exposure to negative behaviour from residents and a higher percentage of working day shifts and fewer evening shifts among participants compared with non-participants. Future plans The first publications will report on the associations of physical and psychosocial working conditions with occurrence of MSD and its consequences. In addition, the cohort gives the opportunity to investigate the importance of organisational, management and team factors for distribution of physical work demands and development of MSD among the workers. This will provide important knowledge for future workplace interventions to reduce MSD and sickness absence. PMID:29490965

Evaluating the long-term cost-effectiveness of liraglutide versus exenatide BID in patients with type 2 diabetes who fail to improve with oral antidiabetic agents.

PubMed

Valentine, William J; Palmer, Andrew J; Lammert, Morten; Langer, Jakob; Brändle, Michael

2011-11-01

The global clinical and economic burden of type 2 diabetes is substantial. Recently, clinical trials with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (liraglutide and exenatide) have shown a multifactorial clinical profile with the potential to address many of the clinical needs of patients and reduce the burden of disease. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of once-daily liraglutide versus exenatide BID in patients with type 2 diabetes who failed to improve with metformin and/or sulfonylurea, based on the results of a previous clinical trial in 6 European countries (Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, and Austria). A validated computer simulation model of diabetes was used to predict life expectancy, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incidence of diabetes-related complications in patients receiving liraglutide (1.8 mg once daily) or exenatide (10 μg BID). Baseline cohort characteristics and treatment effects were derived from the Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes 6 trial. Country-specific complication costs were taken from published sources. Simulations were run over 40 years from third-party payer perspectives. Future costs and clinical benefits were discounted at country-specific discount rates. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Liraglutide was associated with improvements of 0.12 to 0.17 QALY and a reduced incidence of most diabetes-related complications versus exenatide in all settings. Evaluation of total direct medical costs (treatment plus complication costs) suggest that liraglutide was likely to cost between Euro (€) 1023 and €1866 more than exenatide over patients' lifetimes, leading to incremental cost-effectiveness ratios per QALY gained versus exenatide of: Switzerland, CHF (Swiss francs) 10,950 (€6902); Denmark, Danish krone [kr] 88,160 (€11,805); Norway, Norwegian krone [kr], 111,916 (€13,546); Finland, €8459; the Netherlands, €8119; and Austria, €8516. Long-term projections indicated that liraglutide was associated with benefits in life expectancy, QALYs, and reduced complication rates versus exenatide. Liraglutide was cost-effective from a health care payer perspective in Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, and Austria. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is Sexual Victimization Gender Specific? The Prevalence of Forced Sexual Activity among Men and Women in Denmark, and Self-Reported Well-Being among Survivors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sundaram, Vanita; Laursen, Bjarne; Helweg-Larsen, Karin

2008-01-01

The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze…

Reforming Vocational Didactics by Implementing a New VET Teacher Education in Denmark: Tensions and Challenges Reflected in Interviews with Vocational College Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duch, Henriette; Andreasen, Karen E.

2015-01-01

A new education program, Diploma of Vocational Pedagogy, has recently been implemented in Denmark to upskill vocational college teachers and improve didactics at VET colleges in general. Among many challenges, vocational college teachers have to adapt their pedagogy to a large number of students from backgrounds with no tradition for education.…

Models of Financing the Continuing Vocational Training of Employees and Unemployed. Documentation of a LEONARDO-Project in Cooperation with Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grunewald, Uwe, Ed.; Moraal, Dick, Ed.

This document contains papers from an international project in which models of financing the continuing vocational training (CVT) in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway were identified and examined. The following are among the papers included: "Important Results of the LEONARDO-Project (contributions by all project-partners)";…

Situation Report--Austria, Cameroon, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, German Federal Republic, Greece, Hungary, Irish Republic, Jamaica, Malta, Norway, Sabah, Sarawak, Spain, Tahiti (French Polynesia), Tonga, Turkey, and United Kingdom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in 21 foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Austria, Cameroon, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, German Federal Republic, Greece, Hungary, Irish Republic, Jamaica, Malta, Norway, Sabah, Sarawak, Spain, Tahiti, Tonga, Turkey, and United…

What Do the General Population Know, Believe and Feel about Individuals with Autism and Schizophrenia: Results from a Comparative Survey in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Christina Mohr; Martens, Caroline Skat; Nikolajsen, Nanna Dagmar; Skytt Gregersen, Trine; Heckmann Marx, Nanna; Goldberg Frederiksen, Mette; Hansen, Martine Stene

2016-01-01

Few studies investigate what members of the general population know about individuals with autism. Only one study has previously investigated how beliefs about autism differ from those about other psychiatric disorders. This study surveyed a convenience sample of the general adult population, within the Northern Region of Denmark, about their…

EUREKA (European Research Coordination Agency) Program Update to March 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-12

fibers for polymer matrix composites. Environment Membranes for Ultra- Microfiltration Denmark, France 34.90/72 5/A UF/MF module/membrane systems for...Germany 7.00/120 140/A Restoration Sweden, Denmark, France, United Development of not now available industrial products and tech- Kingdom, Greece...Netherlands, nologies as well as craft skills for conservation and restoration Portugal, Turkey, CEC work. Establishment of technical standards and

West Europe Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-02

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY DENMARK Leaking Oil Tanks Polluting Ground Water (Michael Rastrup Smith; BERLINGSKE TIDENDE, 6 Jan 84) 103 DENMARK/GREENLAND...view that Austrian problems are merely a reflection of a worldwide economic crisis situation does not seem to hold water any more. Taxes on interest...country if that displeases another customer. For example, we would not sell the carpet to both Israel and Saudi Arabia. And not to South Africa , as that

How Does Innovative Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Operate in the ECEC Sector? Insights from a Cross-Analysis of Cases in Denmark, Italy and Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bove, Chiara; Jensen, Bente; Wyslowska, Olga; Iannone, Rosa Lisa; Mantovani, Susanna; Karwowska-Struczyk, Malgorzata

2018-01-01

This article offers insights into what characterises innovative continuous professional development (CPD) in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) by analysing similarities and differences from case studies of exemplary approaches to innovative CPD in Denmark, Italy and Poland. The comparative analysis focuses on four features…

Energy efficient industrialized housing research program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berg, R.; Brown, G.Z.; Finrow, J.

1989-01-01

This is the second volume of a two volume report on energy efficient industrialized housing. Volume II contains support documentation for Volume I. The following items are included: individual trip reports; software bibliography; industry contacts in the US, Denmark, and Japan; Cost comparison of industrialized housing in the US and Denmark; draft of the final report on the systems analysis for Fleetwood Mobile Home Manufacturers. (SM)

Direct Job Creation in the Public Sector. Evaluation of National Experience in Canada, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

This report examines selected public sector direct job creation schemes that were in operation in 1977-1978 in Canada, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Based on responses to a questionnaire and discussions with officials in the five countries, the information presented in the report is not intended to evaluate any one…

National Reading Tests in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden: A Comparison of Construct Definitions, Cognitive Targets, and Response Formats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tengberg, Michael

2017-01-01

Reading comprehension tests are often assumed to measure the same, or at least similar, constructs. Yet, reading is not a single but a multidimensional form of processing, which means that variations in terms of reading material and item design may emphasize one aspect of the construct at the cost of another. The educational systems in Denmark,…

Prenatal Stress and Risk of Febrile Seizures in Children: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jiong; Olsen, Jorn; Obel, Carsten; Christensen, Jakob; Precht, Dorthe Hansen; Vestergaard, Mogens

2009-01-01

We aimed to examine whether exposure to prenatal stress following maternal bereavement is associated with an increased risk of febrile seizures. In a longitudinal population-based cohort study, we followed 1,431,175 children born in Denmark. A total of 34,777 children were born to women who lost a close relative during pregnancy or within 1 year…

Macromolecule Mass Spectrometry: Citation Mining of User Documents

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-11-14

MCLUCKEY SA PURDUE UNIV USA 541 MANN M UNIV SO DENMARK DENMARK 450 BIEMANN K MIT USA 343 CHOWDHURY SK SANOFI WINTHROP INC USA 302 COVEY TR SCIEX LTD CANADA...glycopeptid 0.7, residu 0.7) (36) Cluster 8 (proteom 10.8, technolog 5.8, protein 5.7, genom 5.5, function 2.7, advanc 1.5, vaccin 1.2, new 1.1, biolog 1.1

The Concept of Permanent Education and Its Application in Denmark. Studies on Permanent Education, No. 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Werner

A report is made to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe of a case study on the introduction of the concept of permanent education in Denmark. The supplies of education, which have been limited to clients in childhhod, adolescence, and yound adulthood, should now be distributed over a lifetime. Economic growth was formerly explained by input…

The International Symposium on Music in Medicine, Education, and Therapy for the Handicapped (3rd, Ebeltoft, Denmark, July 31-August 5, 1983).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pratt, Rosalie Rebollo, Ed.

Eighteen author-contributed papers are presented from a 1983 Ebeltoft, Denmark conference on clinical uses of music for disabled and chronically ill persons. The following authors and titles are represented: "Music Perception" (J. Davies); "Central Auditory Dysfunction: Implications for Music and the Handicapped" (C. DeFosse and R. Price);…

Testing the Capture Magnet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

This image of a model capture magnet was taken after an experiment in a Mars simulation chamber at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. It has some dust on it, but not as much as that on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's capture magnet. The capture and filter magnets on both Mars Exploration Rovers were delivered by the magnetic properties team at the Center for Planetary Science, Copenhagen, Denmark.

A Cost Analysis of Day Care in Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Marsden G.

A cost analysis of day care in Denmark was initiated to determine what day care services cost, who pays for them, and how these costs relate to the quality of day care services. Some of the findings are: (1) group day care is considerably more expensive for children 0-3 years of age than for children 3-7 years of age; (2) group day care centers…

Is There Something Rotten in the State of Denmark? The Paradoxical Policies of Inclusive Education--Lessons from Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engsig, Thomas T.; Johnstone, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

By 2015, 96% of the entire student body in the Danish public school system must receive his or her education within the regular classrooms, and referrals to segregated special education must be reduced radically. This is the consequence of the so-called "Inclusion Law" passed in the Danish parliament in April 2012. The law contains a…

Alcohol in Greenland 1951-2010: consumption, mortality, prices.

PubMed

Aage, Hans

2012-01-01

Fluctuations in alcohol consumption in Greenland have been extreme since alcohol became available to the Greenland Inuit in the 1950s, increasing from low levels in the 1950s to very high levels in the 1980s - about twice as high as alcohol consumption in Denmark. Since then, consumption has declined, and current consumption is slightly below alcohol consumption in Denmark, while alcohol prices are far above Danish prices. Description of historical trends and possible causal connections of alcohol prices, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related mortality in Greenland 1951-2010 as a background for the evaluation of the impact of various types of policy. Time series for Greenland 1951-2010 for alcohol prices, consumption and mortality are compiled, and variation and correlations are discussed in relation to various policies aimed at limiting alcohol consumption. Corresponding time series for Denmark 1906-2010 are presented for comparison. The trends in alcohol prices and consumption followed each other rather closely until the 1990s in Greenland and the 1980s in Denmark. At this time, consumption stabilised while prices decreased further, but the effect of prices upon consumption is strong, also in recent years. A trend in Greenlandic mortality similar to consumption is discernible, but not significant. Among alcohol-related deaths cirrhosis of the liver is less prevalent whilst accidents are more prevalent than in Denmark. The effect of alcohol excise taxes and rationing upon consumption is evident. The stabilisation and subsequent decline in consumption since the mid-1990s, while alcohol prices decreased persistently, does not preclude continued effects of prices. On the contrary, price effects have been neutralised by other stronger causes. Whether these are government anti-alcohol campaigns or a cultural change is not clear.

Alcohol in Greenland 1951–2010: consumption, mortality, prices

PubMed Central

Aage, Hans

2012-01-01

Background Fluctuations in alcohol consumption in Greenland have been extreme since alcohol became available to the Greenland Inuit in the 1950s, increasing from low levels in the 1950s to very high levels in the 1980s – about twice as high as alcohol consumption in Denmark. Since then, consumption has declined, and current consumption is slightly below alcohol consumption in Denmark, while alcohol prices are far above Danish prices. Objective Description of historical trends and possible causal connections of alcohol prices, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related mortality in Greenland 1951–2010 as a background for the evaluation of the impact of various types of policy. Design Time series for Greenland 1951–2010 for alcohol prices, consumption and mortality are compiled, and variation and correlations are discussed in relation to various policies aimed at limiting alcohol consumption. Corresponding time series for Denmark 1906–2010 are presented for comparison. Results The trends in alcohol prices and consumption followed each other rather closely until the 1990s in Greenland and the 1980s in Denmark. At this time, consumption stabilised while prices decreased further, but the effect of prices upon consumption is strong, also in recent years. A trend in Greenlandic mortality similar to consumption is discernible, but not significant. Among alcohol-related deaths cirrhosis of the liver is less prevalent whilst accidents are more prevalent than in Denmark. Conclusions The effect of alcohol excise taxes and rationing upon consumption is evident. The stabilisation and subsequent decline in consumption since the mid-1990s, while alcohol prices decreased persistently, does not preclude continued effects of prices. On the contrary, price effects have been neutralised by other stronger causes. Whether these are government anti-alcohol campaigns or a cultural change is not clear. PMID:23256091

Final repository for Denmark's low- and intermediate level radioactive waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsson, B.; Gravesen, P.; Petersen, S. S.; Binderup, M.

2012-12-01

Bertel Nilsson*, Peter Gravesen, Stig A. Schack Petersen, Merete Binderup Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark, * email address bn@geus.dk The Danish Parliament decided in 2003 that the temporal disposal of the low- and intermediate level radioactive waste at the nuclear facilities at Risø should find another location for a final repository. The Danish radioactive waste must be stored on Danish land territory (exclusive Greenland) and must hold the entire existing radioactive waste, consisting of the waste from the decommissioning of the nuclear facilities at Risø, and the radioactive waste produced in Denmark from hospitals, universities and industry. The radioactive waste is estimated to a total amount of up to 10,000 m3. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, GEUS, is responsible for the geological studies of suitable areas for the repository. The task has been to locate and recognize non-fractured Quaternary and Tertiary clays or Precambrian bedrocks with low permeability which can isolate the radioactive waste from the surroundings the coming more than 300 years. Twenty two potential areas have been located and sequential reduced to the most favorable two to three locations taking into consideration geology, hydrogeology, nature protection and climate change conditions. Further detailed environmental and geology investigations will be undertaken at the two to three potential localities in 2013 to 2015. This study together with a study of safe transport of the radioactive waste and an investigation of appropriate repository concepts in relation to geology and safety analyses will constitute the basis upon which the final decision by the Danish Parliament on repository concept and repository location. The final repository is planned to be established and in operation at the earliest 2020.

Increased asthma and adipose tissue inflammatory gene expression with obesity and Inuit migration to a western country.

PubMed

Backer, Vibeke; Baines, Katherine J; Powell, Heather; Porsbjerg, Celeste; Gibson, Peter G

2016-02-01

An overlap between obesity and asthma exists, and inflammatory cells in adipose tissue could drive the development of asthma. Comparison of adipose tissue gene expression among Inuit living in Greenland to those in Denmark provides an opportunity to assess how changes in adipose tissue inflammation can be modified by migration and diet. To examine mast cell and inflammatory markers in adipose tissue and the association with asthma. Two Inuit populations were recruited, one living in Greenland and another in Denmark. All underwent adipose subcutaneous biopsy, followed by clinical assessment of asthma, and measurement of AHR. Adipose tissue biopsies were homogenised, RNA extracted, and PCR was performed to determine the relative gene expression of mast cell (tryptase, chymase, CPA3) and inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-1β, and CD163). Of the 1059 Greenlandic Inuit participants, 556 were living in Greenland and 6.4% had asthma. Asthma was increased in Denmark (9%) compared to Greenland (3.6%, p < 0.0001) and associated with increased adipose tissue IL-6 gene expression and increased BMI. There was no association between asthma and adipose tissue mast cell gene expression. Pro-inflammatory gene expression (IL-6, IL-1β) was higher in those living in Denmark, and with increasing BMI and dietary changes. The anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophage marker, CD163, was higher in Greenland-dwelling Inuit (p < 0.01). No association was found between gene expression of mast cell markers in adipose tissue and asthma. Among Greenlandic Inuit, adipose tissue inflammation is also increased in those who migrate to Denmark, possibly as a result of dietary changes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasma YKL-40 in Inuit and Danes.

PubMed

Nøjgaard, Camilla; Johansen, Julia S; Bjerregaard, Peter; Bojesen, Stig E; Becker, Ulrik

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there are differences in plasma levels of YKL-40 between Inuit in Greenland and in Denmark and in Danes, as well as to study the relationship between alcohol intake, plasma YKL-40 and other factors in Inuit. Plasma YKL-40 levels were measured on 1645 people from The Greenland Population Study (a cross-sectional population study of Inuit from Denmark and West Greenland) and were compared with the plasma YKL-40 levels of 8899 people from The Copenhagen City Heart Study (a population-based, prospective study of the Danish general population). The plasma concentrations of YKL-40 were significantly (P = 0.001) lower in Inuit living in Greenland (median 46 µg/l, range 10-2164, n = 1164) compared with the plasma YKL-40 levels of Inuit living in Denmark (median 63 µg/l, range 20-2827, n = 481) and of Danes living in Denmark (median 55 µg/l, range 10-2909, n = 8899). In Inuit, increased alcohol intake was significantly associated with increased plasma YKL-40 levels (P < 0.001), and high plasma YKL-40 levels were associated with high values of alkaline phosphatase and low values of albumin. Smoking, gender and bilirubin were not associated with the plasma YKL-40 level. High levels of YKL-40 and alcohol were associated with where people lived. The plasma concentrations of YKL-40 are significantly lower in Inuit living in Greenland than Inuit and Danes living in Denmark. A number of factors, including different alcohol intake patterns, nutrition and genes may play a role in these findings. © The Author 2014. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Pandemic vaccination strategies and influenza severe outcomes during the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic and the post-pandemic influenza season: the Nordic experience.

PubMed

Gil Cuesta, Julita; Aavitsland, Preben; Englund, Hélène; Gudlaugsson, Ólafur; Hauge, Siri Helene; Lyytikäinen, Outi; Sigmundsdóttir, Guðrún; Tegnell, Anders; Virtanen, Mikko; Krause, Tyra Grove

2016-04-21

During the 2009/10 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic, the five Nordic countries adopted different approaches to pandemic vaccination. We compared pandemic vaccination strategies and severe influenza outcomes, in seasons 2009/10 and 2010/11 in these countries with similar influenza surveillance systems. We calculated the cumulative pandemic vaccination coverage in 2009/10 and cumulative incidence rates of laboratory confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 infections, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths in 2009/10 and 2010/11. We estimated incidence risk ratios (IRR) in a Poisson regression model to compare those indicators between Denmark and the other countries. The vaccination coverage was lower in Denmark (6.1%) compared with Finland (48.2%), Iceland (44.1%), Norway (41.3%) and Sweden (60.0%). In 2009/10 Denmark had a similar cumulative incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09 ICU admissions and deaths compared with the other countries. In 2010/11 Denmark had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09 ICU admissions (IRR: 2.4; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9-3.0) and deaths (IRR: 8.3; 95% CI: 5.1-13.5). Compared with Denmark, the other countries had higher pandemic vaccination coverage and experienced less A(H1N1)pdm09-related severe outcomes in 2010/11. Pandemic vaccination may have had an impact on severe influenza outcomes in the post-pandemic season. Surveillance of severe outcomes may be used to compare the impact of influenza between seasons and support different vaccination strategies.

Morbidity and medicine prescriptions in a nationwide Danish population of patients diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed

Glintborg, Dorte; Hass Rubin, Katrine; Nybo, Mads; Abrahamsen, Bo; Andersen, Marianne

2015-05-01

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increased in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the prevalence of other diseases is not clarified. We aimed to investigate morbidity and medicine prescriptions in PCOS. A National Register-based study. Patients with PCOS (PCOS Denmark and an embedded cohort; PCOS Odense University Hospital (OUH)) and one control population. Premenopausal women with PCOS underwent clinical and biochemical examination (PCOS OUH, n=1217). PCOS Denmark (n=19 199) included women with PCOS in the Danish National Patient Register. Three age-matched controls were included per patient (n=57 483). Diagnosis codes and filled prescriptions. The mean (range) age of the PCOS Denmark group and controls was 30.6 (12-60) years. Patients in PCOS Denmark had higher Charlson index, higher prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension than controls. PCOS was associated with a two times increased risk of stroke and thrombosis, whereas the risk of other cardiovascular diseases was not increased. Thyroid disease, asthma, migraine, and depression were more prevalent in PCOS Denmark vs controls, whereas fractures were rarer. Infertility was increased in patients compared with controls, but the mean number of births was higher in PCOS. Medicine prescriptions within all diagnosis areas were significantly higher in PCOS patients than in controls.In PCOS OUH, polycystic ovaries (PCO) and irregular menses were associated with a more adverse metabolic risk profile, but individual Rotterdam criteria were not associated with cardiometabolic diagnoses. Cardiometabolic and psychiatric morbidity were significantly increased in a Danish population with PCOS. Medical diseases are frequent also in young patients with PCOS. © 2015 European Society of Endocrinology.

Large regional differences in incidence of arthroscopic meniscal procedures in the public and private sector in Denmark.

PubMed

Hare, Kristoffer Borbjerg; Vinther, Jesper Høeg; Lohmander, L Stefan; Thorlund, Jonas Bloch

2015-02-24

A recent study reported a large increase in the number of meniscal procedures from 2000 to 2011 in Denmark. We examined the nation-wide distribution of meniscal procedures performed in the private and public sector in Denmark since different incentives may be present and the use of these procedures may differ from region to region. We included data on all patients who underwent an arthroscopic meniscal procedure performed in the public or private sector in Denmark. Data were retrieved from the Danish National Patient Register on patients who underwent arthroscopic meniscus surgery as a primary or secondary procedure in the years 2000 to 2011. Hospital identification codes enabled linkage of performed procedures to specific hospitals. Yearly incidence of meniscal procedures per 100,000 inhabitants was calculated with 95% CIs for public and private procedures for each region. Incidence of meniscal procedures increased at private and at public hospitals. The private sector accounted for the largest relative and absolute increase, rising from an incidence of 1 in 2000 to 98 in 2011. In 2011, the incidence of meniscal procedures was three times higher in the Capital Region than in Region Zealand. Our study identified a large increase in the use of meniscal procedures in the public and private sector in Denmark. The increase was particularly conspicuous in the private sector as its proportion of procedures performed increased from 1% to 32%. Substantial regional differences were present in the incidence and trend over time of meniscal procedures. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Trends in incidence of borderline ovarian tumors in Denmark 1978-2006.

PubMed

Hannibal, Charlotte Gerd; Huusom, Lene Drasbek; Kjaerbye-Thygesen, Anette; Tabor, Ann; Kjaer, Susanne K

2011-04-01

To examine period-, age- and histology-specific trends in the incidence rate of borderline ovarian tumors in Denmark in 1978-2006. Register-based cohort study. Denmark 1978-2006. 5079 women diagnosed with a borderline ovarian tumor in at least one of two nationwide registries (4312 epithelial tumors and 767 non-epithelial/unspecified tumors). Estimation of overall incidence rates and period-, age- and histology-specific incidence rates. Age-adjustment was done using the World Standard POPULATION. To evaluate incidence trends over time, we estimated average annual percentage change and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using log-linear Poisson models. Age-standardized and age-specific incidence rates and average annual percentage change. The incidence of epithelial borderline ovarian tumors increased from 2.6 to 5.5 per 100,000 women-years between 1978 and 2006, with an average annual percentage change of 2.6% (95% CI: 2.2-3.0). The median age at diagnosis was 52 years. Women 40 years or older had a higher average annual percentage change than women younger than 40 years. Most tumors were mucinous (49.9%) and serous tumors (44.4%). Women with mucinous tumors were younger at diagnosis (50 years) compared with women with serous tumors (53 years). Women with serous tumors had a higher average annual percentage incidence change than women with mucinous tumors. The incidence rate of borderline ovarian tumors increased significantly in Denmark in 1978-2006. In line with results for ovarian cancer, Denmark had a higher incidence rate of borderline ovarian tumors compared with the other Nordic countries in 1978-2006. © 2011 The Authors Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica© 2011 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Temporal Trends in Clinical and Pathological Characteristics for Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy Between 1995 and 2013 at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Stanford University Hospital, United States.

PubMed

Loft, Mathias Dyrberg; Berg, Kasper Drimer; Kjaer, Andreas; Iversen, Peter; Ferrari, Michelle; Zhang, Chiyuan A; Brasso, Klaus; Brooks, James D; Røder, Martin Andreas

2017-09-06

To analyze how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and practice patterns has affected trends in tumor characteristics in men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) in the United States and Denmark. Unlike in the United States, PSA screening has not been recommended in Denmark. We performed an observational register study using pre- and postoperative data on 2168 Danish patients from Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, and 2236 patients from Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, CA, who underwent RP between 1995 and 2013. Patients were stratified according to Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment-Postsurgical (CAPRA-S) risk groups and D'Amico risk classification and were clustered into 4 time periods (1995-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010-2013). Temporal trends in the proportions of patients of a given variable at the 2 institutions were evaluated with Cochran-Armitage test for trends and chi-square testing. A total of 4404 patients were included. Temporal changes in preoperative PSA, age, grade, and stage was found in both cohorts. Median preoperative PSA declined in both cohorts, while median age increased, with the Danish cohort showing the greatest changes in both PSA and age. In both cohorts, there was a trend for higher-risk preoperative features before RP over time. In 2010-2013, 27.7% and 21.8% of the patients were in the D'Amico high-risk group at Copenhagen and Stanford, respectively. Despite recommendation against PSA screening in Denmark, Danish men undergoing RP at Rigshospitalet to a considerable extent now resemble American men undergoing RP at Stanford. At both sites, there is continued trend to reduce the number of men undergoing RP for low-risk prostate cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers among Danish women and general practitioners to raising the issue of intimate partner violence in general practice: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Mørk, Trine; Andersen, Pernille Tanggaard; Taket, Ann

2014-06-03

Thirty-five percent of Danish women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. However, health care professionals are not in the practice of asking about intimate partner violence (IPV) in Denmark. It is currently unknown what hinders general practitioners from asking about partner violence and how Danish women would perceive such an inquiry. This aspect has not previously been explored in Denmark. An exploratory study was conducted to examine what hinders general practitioners (GPs) from asking and what Danish women's views and attitudes are regarding being asked about IPV. Data were collected through individual and group interviews with a sample of three GPs and a diverse sample of 13 women, including both survivors of partner violence and those without any history of partner violence. An interpretative analysis was performed with the data. This study provides important knowledge regarding the barriers and attitudes towards inquiry about IPV in primary care in Denmark. Results indicate that Denmark is facing the same challenges when responding to survivors of IPV as other similar countries, including Sweden, Norway, the UK, USA, and Australia. Danish women want general practitioners to ask about violence in a respectful and non-judgemental manner. However, general practitioners are resistant towards such an inquiry and would benefit from training regarding how to respond to women who have been exposed to IPV. It is acceptable to inquire about IPV with women in Denmark in a non-judgemental and respectful way. Informing about IPV prevalence is important prior to the inquiry. However, general practitioners require more awareness and training before a favourable environment for this change in procedure can be created. Further large-scale research is needed to support the evidence generated by this small study.

Incidence of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Southern part of Denmark from 1995 to 2001

PubMed Central

Pedersen, Jens K; Svendsen, Anders J; Hørslev-Petersen, Kim

2007-01-01

We estimated the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in the southern part of Denmark from 1995 to 2001. At a rheumatology hospital serving a population of about 200 000 people over the age of 15, medical records were scrutinized. As case definition we used the tree and list format of 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. The mean annual incidence rate per 100 000 person years was 40 in females, 21 in males, and 31 in females and males combined. The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in Denmark is in accordance with recent studies from North America, the UK, and Northern European countries. The aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown but this study indicates that in these populations the exposure to non-genetic host and environmental aetiological factors is similar. PMID:19088896

Educational assortative mating and income inequality in Denmark.

PubMed

Breen, Richard; Andersen, Signe Hald

2012-08-01

Many writers have expressed a concern that growing educational assortative mating will lead to greater inequality between households in their earnings or income. In this article, we examine the relationship between educational assortative mating and income inequality in Denmark between 1987 and 2006. Denmark is widely known for its low level of income inequality, but the Danish case provides a good test of the relationship between educational assortative mating and inequality because although income inequality increased over the period we consider, educational homogamy declined. Using register data on the exact incomes of the whole population, we find that change in assortative mating increased income inequality but that these changes were driven by changes in the educational distributions of men and women rather than in the propensity for people to choose a partner with a given level of education.

Concerns about Research and Prevention Strategies in Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eminson, Mary; Jureidini, Jon

2003-01-01

This article examines three motives for research into Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy child abuse, which are to enhance treatment, to understand the psychopathology of perpetrators, and to find interventions to prevent its occurrence. It argues that only the first justification is valid and proposes that research energy be directed toward…

Development and validation of a rapid method for microcystins in fish and comparing LC-MS/MS results with ELISA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Microcystins (MCs) are the most common cyanotoxins found world-wide in freshwater, brackish and marine environments. The rapid and accurate analysis of microcystins and nodularin in fish tissue is important for determining occurrence, monitoring trends, and exposure monitoring for risk assessment a...

Patch Size, Functional Isolation, Visibility and Matrix Permeability Influences Neotropical Primate Occurrence within Highly Fragmented Landscapes

PubMed Central

da Silva, Lucas Goulart; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Hasui, Érica; da Costa, Carla Aparecida; da Cunha, Rogério Grassetto Teixeira

2015-01-01

Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are among the major current extinction causes. Remaining fragments are mostly small, isolated and showing poor quality. Being primarily arboreal, Neotropical primates are generally sensitive to fragmentation effects. Furthermore, primates are involved in complex ecological process. Thus, landscape changes that negatively interfere with primate population dynamic affect the structure, composition, and ultimately the viability of the whole community. We evaluated if fragment size, isolation and visibility and matrix permeability are important for explaining the occurrence of three Neotropical primate species. Employing playback, we verified the presence of Callicebus nigrifrons, Callithrix aurita and Sapajus nigritus at 45 forest fragments around the municipality of Alfenas, Brazil. We classified the landscape and evaluated the metrics through predictive models of occurrence. We selected the best models through Akaike Selection Criterion. Aiming at validating our results, we applied the plausible models to another region (20 fragments at the neighboring municipality of Poço Fundo, Brazil). Twelve models were plausible, and three were validated, two for Sapajus nigritus (Area and Area+Visibility) and one for Callicebus nigrifrons (Area+Matrix). Our results reinforce the contribution of fragment size to maintain biodiversity within highly degraded habitats. At the same time, they stress the importance of including novel, biologically relevant metrics in landscape studies, such as visibility and matrix permeability, which can provide invaluable help for similar studies in the future and on conservation practices in the long run. PMID:25658108

Magnetostriction and Magnetic Heterogeneities in Iron-Gallium

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-08

instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send...2Materials Research Division, Risø DTU , Technical University of Denmark, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark 3Nano-Science Center, Niels Bohr Institute, University...gauges monitored the strain. Comparing Eqs. (1) and the dependencies of the data at high magnetic fields [Fig. 1(d)], we see ðRÞ ¼ 0 everywhere, i.e

The Way We Think: A Research Symposium on Conceptual Integration and the Nature and Origin of Cognitively Modern Human Beings (Odense, Denmark, August 19-23, 2002). Volumes I [and] II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hougaard, Anders, Ed.; Lund, Steffen Nordahl, Ed.

2002-01-01

These 2 volumes include papers and abstracts of papers presented at the August 2002 "The Way We Think" conference in Denmark. Papers and abstracts of papers in the two volumes include: "Blending and Conceptual Disintegration" (Anders Hougaard); "Levels of Blending, Disintegration, and Language Evolution" (Carl Bache); "Conceptual Integration,…

The European Union’s Reform Process: The Libson Treaty

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-22

group: Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined in 1973; Greece in 1981; Portugal and Spain in 1986; and Austria, Finland , and Sweden in 1995...1 The member countries of the EU are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland ... double majority” system is to be introduced in 2014 (instead of 2009-2010), gradually phased in over three years, and not fully implemented until

Eureka’s Ministerial Conference (6th) Held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-13

projects and the progress reported on the 160 partments and organizations concerned with R&D and existing projects. Small and medium-size companies ...to a new, improved lexicographical standard. Roadacom-Enroute Applied Data Communications Netherlands, Denmark 10.50/48 271/E Developmmcnt of an...to improve road transport efficiency. Fluid Structure Interaction Netherlands, United 0.70/46 274/E Fluid structure interaction applies when dealing

Current Status for Teaching Nursing Informatics in Denmark, Canada, and Australia.

PubMed

Madsen, Inge; Cummings, Elizabeth; Borycki, Elizabeth M

2015-01-01

Nursing schools in Denmark, Canada, and Australia are all currently involved in integrating nursing informatics in the nursing bachelor programme. This paper gives a brief update on the current situation of nursing informatics education for bachelor level nurses in each of the three countries. Whilst there are differences in the curriculum in each county, it is important to share knowledge about undergraduate nursing informatics worldwide to ensure consistency.

Doubling Syndemics

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract This study investigates health concerns and access to health services for Roma from Romania who live in homelessness in Copenhagen, Denmark. They collect refundable bottles and call themselves “badocari,” which in Romanian refers to “people who work with bottles.” Homeless Roma in Denmark have not previously been studied through ethnographic research. The study stresses the importance of a syndemic approach towards understanding badocari health concerns. Syndemics is understood as co-occurring diseases, which unfold within contexts of social injustice. The case of the badocari is argued to be a case of “doubling syndemics” since the co-occurring diseases are further multiplied and enhanced by an ongoing mobility between dual contexts of precarious livelihoods in Romania and Denmark, respectively. The study complements the approach to syndemics with a perspective on human rights. It sheds light on the limited possibilities that exist for addressing health concerns of the badocari, both in Romania and in Denmark, and argues that the universal human right to health is not realized in the everyday lives of destitute EU migrants such as the badocari. Rather, they experience lack of access to adequate medical treatment and follow-up care, both as citizens of a member state and as co-citizens of the European Union. PMID:29302164

Influence of dental care systems on dental status. A comparison between two countries with different systems but similar living standards.

PubMed

Palmqvist, S; Söderfeldt, B; Vigild, M

2001-03-01

To evaluate the influence of two different dental care systems on dental status, taking into account relevant socio-economic factors. Questionnaire studies on randomly sampled subjects in Denmark and Sweden using questionnaire forms as identical as possible with regard to the different languages. The studies were performed late in 1998 in both countries. Questionnaires were sent to 1,175 subjects aged 45-69 years in Denmark (response rate 73%) and to 1,001 subjects aged 55-79 years in Sweden (response rate 67%). Questions about dental status and about socioeconomic factors and attitudes toward dental care were included. In logistic regression models, various dichotomies of dental conditions were used as dependent variables. State (Denmark vs. Sweden) was used as an independent variable together with socioeconomic factors and attitudes. There were great differences between the countries in dental status. In the regression model with 'wearing removable denture(s)' as the dependent variable, state was the strongest predictor with an OR of above 4.1 for Denmark compared to Sweden. much stronger than variables such as age, income, education and residence. The results indicate that the Swedish dental care system has been superior to the Danish one regarding dental status in middle aged and older populations in these two countries.

"That is why I have trust": unpacking what 'trust' means to participants in international genetic research in Pakistan and Denmark.

PubMed

Sheikh, Zainab; Hoeyer, Klaus

2018-06-01

Trust features prominently in a number of policy documents that have been issued in recent years to facilitate data sharing and international collaboration in medical research. However, it often remains unclear what is meant by 'trust'. By exploring a concrete international collaboration between Denmark and Pakistan, we develop a way of unpacking trust that shifts focus from what trust 'is' to what people invest in relationships and what references to trust do for them in these relationships. Based on interviews in both Pakistan and Denmark with people who provide blood samples and health data for the same laboratory, we find that when participants discuss trust they are trying to shape their relationship to researchers while simultaneously communicating important hopes, fears and expectations. The types of trust people talk about are never unconditional, but involve awareness of uncertainties and risks. There are different things at stake for people in different contexts, and therefore it is not the same to trust researchers in Pakistan as it is in Denmark, even when participants donate to the same laboratory. We conclude that casual references to 'trust' in policy documents risk glossing over important local differences and contribute to a de-politicization of basic inequalities in access to healthcare.

Psychosocial work environment and its association with socioeconomic status. A comparison of Spain and Denmark.

PubMed

Moncada, Salvador; Pejtersen, Jan Hyld; Navarro, Albert; Llorens, Clara; Burr, Hermann; Hasle, Peter; Bjorner, Jakob Bue

2010-02-01

The purpose of this study was to describe psychosocial work environment inequalities among wage earners in Spain and Denmark. Data came from the Spanish COPSOQ (ISTAS 21) and the Danish COPSOQ II surveys both performed in 2004-05 and based on national representative samples of employees with a 60% response rate. Study population was 3,359 Danish and 6,685 Spanish women and men. Only identical items from both surveys were included to construct 18 psychosocial scales. Socioeconomic status was categorized according to the European Socioeconomic Classification System. Analysis included ordinal logistic regression and multiple correspondence analysis after categorizing all scales. A relationship between socioeconomic status and psychosocial work environment in both Denmark and Spain was observed, with wider social inequalities in Spain for many scales, describing a strong interaction effect between socioeconomic status and country. Socioeconomic status is related to psychosocial work environment and some adverse psychosocial conditions tend to cluster in lower socioeconomic status groups in both Spain and Denmark. This effect could be modified by a country's characteristics, such as economic and labour market structures, normative regulations and industrial relations including work organization. Hence, preventive strategies to reduce social inequalities in working conditions should consider the combination of actions at the macro and micro levels.

Literature Mining for the Discovery of Hidden Connections between Drugs, Genes and Diseases

PubMed Central

Frijters, Raoul; van Vugt, Marianne; Smeets, Ruben; van Schaik, René; de Vlieg, Jacob; Alkema, Wynand

2010-01-01

The scientific literature represents a rich source for retrieval of knowledge on associations between biomedical concepts such as genes, diseases and cellular processes. A commonly used method to establish relationships between biomedical concepts from literature is co-occurrence. Apart from its use in knowledge retrieval, the co-occurrence method is also well-suited to discover new, hidden relationships between biomedical concepts following a simple ABC-principle, in which A and C have no direct relationship, but are connected via shared B-intermediates. In this paper we describe CoPub Discovery, a tool that mines the literature for new relationships between biomedical concepts. Statistical analysis using ROC curves showed that CoPub Discovery performed well over a wide range of settings and keyword thesauri. We subsequently used CoPub Discovery to search for new relationships between genes, drugs, pathways and diseases. Several of the newly found relationships were validated using independent literature sources. In addition, new predicted relationships between compounds and cell proliferation were validated and confirmed experimentally in an in vitro cell proliferation assay. The results show that CoPub Discovery is able to identify novel associations between genes, drugs, pathways and diseases that have a high probability of being biologically valid. This makes CoPub Discovery a useful tool to unravel the mechanisms behind disease, to find novel drug targets, or to find novel applications for existing drugs. PMID:20885778

Coupling of Bayesian Networks with GIS for wildfire risk assessment on natural and agricultural areas of the Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherb, Anke; Papakosta, Panagiota; Straub, Daniel

2014-05-01

Wildfires cause severe damages to ecosystems, socio-economic assets, and human lives in the Mediterranean. To facilitate coping with wildfire risks, an understanding of the factors influencing wildfire occurrence and behavior (e.g. human activity, weather conditions, topography, fuel loads) and their interaction is of importance, as is the implementation of this knowledge in improved wildfire hazard and risk prediction systems. In this project, a probabilistic wildfire risk prediction model is developed, with integrated fire occurrence and fire propagation probability and potential impact prediction on natural and cultivated areas. Bayesian Networks (BNs) are used to facilitate the probabilistic modeling. The final BN model is a spatial-temporal prediction system at the meso scale (1 km2 spatial and 1 day temporal resolution). The modeled consequences account for potential restoration costs and production losses referred to forests, agriculture, and (semi-) natural areas. BNs and a geographic information system (GIS) are coupled within this project to support a semi-automated BN model parameter learning and the spatial-temporal risk prediction. The coupling also enables the visualization of prediction results by means of daily maps. The BN parameters are learnt for Cyprus with data from 2006-2009. Data from 2010 is used as validation data set. A special focus is put on the performance evaluation of the BN for fire occurrence, which is modeled as binary classifier and thus, could be validated by means of Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves. With the final best models, AUC values of more than 70% for validation could be achieved, which indicates potential for reliable prediction performance via BN. Maps of selected days in 2010 are shown to illustrate final prediction results. The resulting system can be easily expanded to predict additional expected damages in the mesoscale (e.g. building and infrastructure damages). The system can support planning of preventive measures (e.g. state resources allocation for wildfire prevention and preparedness) and assist recuperation plans of damaged areas.

Integrated data collection on zoonoses in the European Union, from animals to humans, and the analyses of the data.

PubMed

Ammon, Andrea; Makela, Pia

2010-05-30

The European Community (EC) has been collecting for 15 years data on zoonoses and agents thereof that integrate the information from human cases and their occurrence in food and animals. The current data collection covers 11 zoonotic agents: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), Yersinia spp., Brucella, Mycobacterium bovis, Trichinella and Echinoccoccus, as well as rabies and food-borne outbreaks. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is assigned the tasks of examining the data collected and publishing the Community Summary Report. This Report is prepared in close collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) responsible for the surveillance of the communicable diseases in humans, and with EFSA's Zoonoses Collaboration Centre (ZCC, in the Technical University of Denmark). Member States report the data on animals, feed, food and food-borne outbreaks to EFSA's web-based reporting system and the data on the human cases are reported to ECDC's web-application for The European Surveillance System (TESSy). The flow and analysis of data are described as well as an outline of the future plans to improve the comparability of the data. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Whole Genome-Sequencing and Phylogenetic Analysis of a Historical Collection of Bacillus anthracis Strains from Danish Cattle

PubMed Central

Derzelle, Sylviane; Girault, Guillaume; Kokotovic, Branko; Angen, Øystein

2015-01-01

Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is known as one of the most genetically monomorphic species. Canonical single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing and whole-genome sequencing were used to investigate the molecular diversity of eleven B. anthracis strains isolated from cattle in Denmark between 1935 and 1988. Danish strains were assigned into five canSNP groups or lineages, i.e. A.Br.001/002 (n = 4), A.Br.Ames (n = 2), A.Br.008/011 (n = 2), A.Br.005/006 (n = 2) and A.Br.Aust94 (n = 1). The match with the A.Br.Ames lineage is of particular interest as the occurrence of such lineage in Europe is demonstrated for the first time, filling an historical gap within the phylogeography of the lineage. Comparative genome analyses of these strains with 41 isolates from other parts of the world revealed that the two Danish A.Br.008/011 strains were related to the heroin-associated strains responsible for outbreaks of injection anthrax in drug users in Europe. Eight novel diagnostic SNPs that specifically discriminate the different sub-groups of Danish strains were identified and developed into PCR-based genotyping assays. PMID:26317972

Epidemiology and Clinical Manifestations of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Hebbelstrup Jensen, Betina; Olsen, Katharina E. P.; Struve, Carsten; Petersen, Andreas Munk

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) represents a heterogeneous group of E. coli strains. The pathogenicity and clinical relevance of these bacteria are still controversial. In this review, we describe the clinical significance of EAEC regarding patterns of infection in humans, transmission, reservoirs, and symptoms. Manifestations associated with EAEC infection include watery diarrhea, mucoid diarrhea, low-grade fever, nausea, tenesmus, and borborygmi. In early studies, EAEC was considered to be an opportunistic pathogen associated with diarrhea in HIV patients and in malnourished children in developing countries. In recent studies, associations with traveler's diarrhea, the occurrence of diarrhea cases in industrialized countries, and outbreaks of diarrhea in Europe and Asia have been reported. In the spring of 2011, a large outbreak of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) and hemorrhagic colitis occurred in Germany due to an EAEC O104:H4 strain, causing 54 deaths and 855 cases of HUS. This strain produces the potent Shiga toxin along with the aggregative fimbriae. An outbreak of urinary tract infection associated with EAEC in Copenhagen, Denmark, occurred in 1991; this involved extensive production of biofilm, an important characteristic of the pathogenicity of EAEC. However, the heterogeneity of EAEC continues to complicate diagnostics and also our understanding of pathogenicity. PMID:24982324

Nurses' Use of iPads in Home Care-What Does It Mean to Patients?: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Vilstrup, Dorte Lindstrøm; Madsen, Esben Elholm; Hansen, Christl Fandt; Wind, Gitte

2017-03-01

Although the use of technology is growing, little is known about how patients perceive technology in the form of tools used by health professionals. The prevailing view in the literature is that technology is cold, compared with the warm hands of nurses, but research regarding nurses' use of technology such as tablets is scarce. Even scarcer is research on how patients perceive the use of technological tools. This study examines patients' perspectives on the use of iPads by home care nurses. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven participants who were receiving home care in Denmark, aged 62 to 90 years, with different backgrounds and experiences with technology. Participants viewed nurses' use of iPads as an everyday occurrence, reflecting societal growth in the use of technology, and some perceived it as a sign of professionalism with the potential to enhance care. Their perceptions varied somewhat according to their baseline knowledge and experience with the technology. Although nurses may view technology as cold, the findings suggest that patients have a slightly warmer view of it. More patient-centered research into the use of technology in healthcare is needed.

Nurses’ Use of iPads in Home Care—What Does It Mean to Patients?

PubMed Central

Vilstrup, Dorte Lindstrøm; Madsen, Esben Elholm; Hansen, Christl Fandt; Wind, Gitte

2017-01-01

Although the use of technology is growing, little is known about how patients perceive technology in the form of tools used by health professionals. The prevailing view in the literature is that technology is cold, compared with the warm hands of nurses, but research regarding nurses’ use of technology such as tablets is scarce. Even scarcer is research on how patients perceive the use of technological tools. This study examines patients’ perspectives on the use of iPads by home care nurses. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven participants who were receiving home care in Denmark, aged 62 to 90 years, with different backgrounds and experiences with technology. Participants viewed nurses’ use of iPads as an everyday occurrence, reflecting societal growth in the use of technology, and some perceived it as a sign of professionalism with the potential to enhance care. Their perceptions varied somewhat according to their baseline knowledge and experience with the technology. Although nurses may view technology as cold, the findings suggest that patients have a slightly warmer view of it. More patient-centered research into the use of technology in healthcare is needed. PMID:27787296

Swarm- Validation of Star Tracker and Accelerometer Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schack, Peter; Schlicht, Anja; Pail, Roland; Gruber, Thomas

2016-08-01

The ESA Swarm mission is designed to advance studies in the field of magnetosphere, thermosphere and gravity field. To be fortunate on this task precise knowledge of the orientation of the Swarm satellites is required together with knowledge about external forces acting on the satellites. The key sensors providing this information are the star trackers and the accelerometers. Based on star tracker studies conducted by the Denmark Technical University (DTU), we found interesting patterns in the interboresight angles on all three satellites, which are partly induced by temperature alterations. Additionally, structures of horizontal stripes seem to be caused by the unique distribution of observed stars on the charge-coupled device of the star trackers. Our accelerometer analyses focus on spikes and pulses in the observations. Those short term events on Swarm might originate from electrical processes introduced by sunlight illuminating the nadir foil. Comparisons to GOCE and GRACE are included.

Simulating and validating coastal gradients in wind energy resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahmann, Andrea; Floors, Rogier; Karagali, Ioanna; Vasiljevic, Nikola; Lea, Guillaume; Simon, Elliot; Courtney, Michael; Badger, Merete; Peña, Alfredo; Hasager, Charlotte

2016-04-01

The experimental campaign of the RUNE (Reducing Uncertainty of Near-shore wind resource Estimates) project took place on the western coast of Denmark during the winter 2015-2016. The campaign used onshore scanning lidar technology combined with ocean and satellite information and produced a unique dataset to study the transition in boundary layer dynamics across the coastal zone. The RUNE project aims at reducing the uncertainty of near-shore wind resource estimates produced by mesoscale modeling. With this in mind, simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were performed to identify the sensitivity in the coastal gradients of wind energy resources to various model parameters and model inputs. Among these: model horizontal grid spacing and the planetary boundary layer and surface-layer scheme. We report on the differences amongst these simulations and preliminary results on the comparison of the model simulations with the RUNE observations of lidar and satellite measurements and near coastal tall mast.

The self-care behavior inventory: a model for behavioral instrument development.

PubMed

McLaughlin, J; Sliepcevich, E M

1985-09-01

The Self-Care Behavior (SCB) Inventory was developed as part of a long-term study of self-care practices of persons who have multiple sclerosis (MS) in Denmark. The universe of behaviors regarding the physical, social, emotional, environmental, and spiritual aspects of coping with the illness was ascertained by informal and formal interviews. Respondents were asked not only what behavior was performed, but also who performed it, how it was performed, why, when, and where it was performed, and where the knowledge to perform the behavior in this manner was acquired, such as a lay-referral network, physician, social worker, spouse, or media. The inventory went through a series of drafts and pre-tests, resulting in a final version that met criteria for validity and reliability. The model presented for the development of the SCB Inventory can be useful for designing behavioral inventories and assessment tools for other chronic conditions such as arthritis, epilepsy, and diabetes.

Monitoring Diabrotica v. virgifera (Col.: Chrysomelidae) in southeastern Slovenia: increasing population trend and host spectrum expansion.

PubMed

Ulrichs, C; Dinnesen, S; Nedelev, T; Hummel, H E; Modic, S; Urek, G

2008-01-01

Ever since the western corn rootworm (WCR) (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera), an alien invasive species from North America, has been introduced into Europe on at least 3 separate occasions, it spread within 15 years over the entire area of south-eastern and central Europe (except Denmark). Until quite recently, Zea mays L. was the only known host plant whereas in North America WCR also attacks members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae. In August of 2006, we were able to validate these findings also in the Old World by observing WCR visiting blossoms of oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.). Beside this first report of WCR on this regionally and economically important crop, a population increase in Gaberje near Lendava, Eastern Slovenia, was observed. Some future consequences of multiple hosts for integrated pest management (IPM) of WCR are being discussed.

Measuring distributed leadership agency in a hospital context.

PubMed

Jønsson, Thomas; Unterrainer, Christine; Jeppesen, Hans-Jeppe; Jain, Ajay Kumar

2016-09-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an instrument that can measure distributed leadership (DL) as employees' active participation in DL tasks. The authors designate this as the distributed leadership agency (DLA). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected throughout all departments and occupational groups at a merged centralized hospital setting in Denmark. A total of 1,774 employees from 24 hospital departments and 16 occupational groups completed our survey. Structural equation model and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to identify appropriate items and a test for measurement invariance, predictive, discriminant and convergent validity, and ANOVAs were applied to analyse group differences in DLA. Findings The identified unidimensional questionnaire consists of seven items, as it is different from, but associated with, empowering leadership, organizational influence, attitude to participation and trust in management. As theoretically predicted, DLA is positively related to self-efficacy, job satisfaction and innovative behaviour. Chief physicians, permanent employees and employee representatives scored higher on the scale than the rest of their respective counterparts. Practical implications The survey offers a method to assess a distribution of leadership agency in hospital organizations. Such assessment may provide a basis for organizational and leadership development. Originality/value The present study provides a reliable and valid quantitative instrument that measures how much employees at all hierarchical levels are involved in concrete leadership activities in the hospital context. Taking a normative perspective the authors could show that DL - measured with the DLA-questionnaire - has positive effects on employees' behaviour.

Incremental predictive validity of the Addiction Severity Index psychiatric composite score in a consecutive cohort of patients in residential treatment for drug use disorders.

PubMed

Thylstrup, Birgitte; Bloomfield, Kim; Hesse, Morten

2018-01-01

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is a widely used assessment instrument for substance abuse treatment that includes scales reflecting current status in seven potential problem areas, including psychiatric severity. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of the psychiatric composite score to predict suicide and psychiatric care after residential treatment for drug use disorders after adjusting for history of psychiatric care. All patients treated for drug use disorders in residential treatment centers in Denmark during the years 2000-2010 with complete ASI data were followed through national registers of psychiatric care and causes of death (N=5825). Competing risks regression analyses were used to assess the incremental predictive validity of the psychiatric composite score, controlling for previous psychiatric care, length of intake, and other ASI composite scores, up to 12years after discharge. A total of 1769 patients received psychiatric care after being discharged from residential treatment (30.3%), and 27 (0.5%) committed suicide. After adjusting for all covariates, psychiatric composite score was associated with a higher risk of receiving psychiatric care after residential treatment (subhazard ratio [SHR]=3.44, p<0.001), and of committing suicide (SHR=11.45, p<0.001). The ASI psychiatric composite score has significant predictive validity and promises to be useful in identifying patients with drug use disorders who could benefit from additional mental health treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Digital Mapping of Soil Organic Carbon Contents and Stocks in Denmark

PubMed Central

Adhikari, Kabindra; Hartemink, Alfred E.; Minasny, Budiman; Bou Kheir, Rania; Greve, Mette B.; Greve, Mogens H.

2014-01-01

Estimation of carbon contents and stocks are important for carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and national carbon balance inventories. For Denmark, we modeled the vertical distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) and bulk density, and mapped its spatial distribution at five standard soil depth intervals (0−5, 5−15, 15−30, 30−60 and 60−100 cm) using 18 environmental variables as predictors. SOC distribution was influenced by precipitation, land use, soil type, wetland, elevation, wetness index, and multi-resolution index of valley bottom flatness. The highest average SOC content of 20 g kg−1 was reported for 0−5 cm soil, whereas there was on average 2.2 g SOC kg−1 at 60−100 cm depth. For SOC and bulk density prediction precision decreased with soil depth, and a standard error of 2.8 g kg−1 was found at 60−100 cm soil depth. Average SOC stock for 0−30 cm was 72 t ha−1 and in the top 1 m there was 120 t SOC ha−1. In total, the soils stored approximately 570 Tg C within the top 1 m. The soils under agriculture had the highest amount of carbon (444 Tg) followed by forest and semi-natural vegetation that contributed 11% of the total SOC stock. More than 60% of the total SOC stock was present in Podzols and Luvisols. Compared to previous estimates, our approach is more reliable as we adopted a robust quantification technique and mapped the spatial distribution of SOC stock and prediction uncertainty. The estimation was validated using common statistical indices and the data and high-resolution maps could be used for future soil carbon assessment and inventories. PMID:25137066

Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis—three challenges—consequences of the vasculitis process, osteoporosis, and malignancy

PubMed Central

Emamifar, Amir; Hess, Søren; Gerke, Oke; Hermann, Anne Pernille; Laustrup, Helle; Hansen, Per Syrak; Thye-Rønn, Peter; Marcussen, Niels; Svendstrup, Frank; Gildberg-Mortensen, Rannveig; Bang, Jacob Christian; Farahani, Ziba Ahangarani; Chrysidis, Stavros; Toftegaard, Pia; Andreasen, Rikke Asmussen; le Greves, Sebastian; Andersen, Hanne Randi; Olsen, Rudolf Nezlo; Hansen, Inger Marie Jensen

2017-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are common inflammatory conditions. The diagnosis of PMR/GCA poses many challenges since there are no specific diagnostic tests. Recent literature emphasizes the ability of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to assess global disease activity in inflammatory diseases. 18F-FDG PET/CT may lead to the diagnosis at an earlier stage than conventional imaging and may also assess response to therapy. With respect to the management of PMR/GCA, there are 3 significant areas of concern as follows: vasculitis process/vascular stiffness, malignancy, and osteoporosis. Methods and analysis: All patients with suspected PMR/GCR referred to the Rheumatology section of Medicine Department at Svendborg Hospital, Denmark. The 4 separate studies in the current protocol focus on: the association of clinical picture of PMR/GCA with PET findings; the validity of 18F-FDG PET/CT scan for diagnosis of PMR/GCA compared with temporal artery biopsy; the prevalence of newly diagnosed malignancies in patients with PMR/GCA, or PMR-like syndrome, with the focus on diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT scan compared with conventional workup (ie, chest X-ray/abdominal ultrasound); and the impact of disease process, and also steroid treatment on bone mineral density, body composition, and vasculitis/vascular stiffness in PMR/GCA patients. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Regional Ethics Committee of the Region of Southern Denmark (identification number: S-20160098) and Danish Data Protection Agency (J.nr 16/40522). Results of the study will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed journals, and presentation at national and international conferences. PMID:28658131

Risk of malignancy index used as a diagnostic tool in a tertiary centre for patients with a pelvic mass.

PubMed

Håkansson, Fanny; Høgdall, Estrid V S; Nedergaard, Lotte; Lundvall, Lene; Engelholm, Svend A; Pedersen, Anette T; Hartwell, Dorthe; Høgdall, Claus

2012-04-01

Risk of malignancy index (RMI), based on a serum cancer antigen 125 level, ultrasound findings and menopausal status, is used to discriminate ovarian cancer from benign pelvic mass. In Denmark, patients with pelvic mass and RMI ≥200 are referred to tertiary gynecologic oncology centers according to the national guidelines for ovarian cancer treatment. The guidelines include recalculation of RMI at the tertiary center and, if indicated, positron emission tomography/computed tomography and fast-track surgery by specialists in cancer surgery. The aim of this study was to validate the use of RMI ≥200 as a tool for preoperative identification of ovarian cancer at a tertiary center. Prospective observational study. A tertiary center in Copenhagen, Denmark. One thousand one hundred and fifty-nine women with pelvic mass. The RMI was calculated after ultrasound examination and blood sampling for serum cancer antigen 125 analysis within two weeks before surgery. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated to evaluate the ability of RMI to distinguish between ovarian cancer and benign pelvic mass. There were 778 women diagnosed with benign pelvic mass, while 251 had ovarian cancer and 74 had borderline ovarian tumor. Fifty-six women were diagnosed with other forms of cancer. Sensitivity and specificity for ovarian cancer vs. benign pelvic mass for RMI ≥200 were 92 and 82%, respectively. Corresponding positive and negative predictive values were 62 and 97%. Risk of malignancy index ≥200 is a reliable tool for identifying patients with ovarian cancer pelvic masses at a tertiary centre to select patients for further preoperative examinations. © 2012 The Authors Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica© 2012 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Digital mapping of soil organic carbon contents and stocks in Denmark.

PubMed

Adhikari, Kabindra; Hartemink, Alfred E; Minasny, Budiman; Bou Kheir, Rania; Greve, Mette B; Greve, Mogens H

2014-01-01

Estimation of carbon contents and stocks are important for carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and national carbon balance inventories. For Denmark, we modeled the vertical distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) and bulk density, and mapped its spatial distribution at five standard soil depth intervals (0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60 and 60-100 cm) using 18 environmental variables as predictors. SOC distribution was influenced by precipitation, land use, soil type, wetland, elevation, wetness index, and multi-resolution index of valley bottom flatness. The highest average SOC content of 20 g kg(-1) was reported for 0-5 cm soil, whereas there was on average 2.2 g SOC kg(-1) at 60-100 cm depth. For SOC and bulk density prediction precision decreased with soil depth, and a standard error of 2.8 g kg(-1) was found at 60-100 cm soil depth. Average SOC stock for 0-30 cm was 72 t ha(-1) and in the top 1 m there was 120 t SOC ha(-1). In total, the soils stored approximately 570 Tg C within the top 1 m. The soils under agriculture had the highest amount of carbon (444 Tg) followed by forest and semi-natural vegetation that contributed 11% of the total SOC stock. More than 60% of the total SOC stock was present in Podzols and Luvisols. Compared to previous estimates, our approach is more reliable as we adopted a robust quantification technique and mapped the spatial distribution of SOC stock and prediction uncertainty. The estimation was validated using common statistical indices and the data and high-resolution maps could be used for future soil carbon assessment and inventories.

International variation in medication prescription rates among elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Benchimol, Eric I; Cook, Suzanne F; Erichsen, Rune; Long, Millie D; Bernstein, Charles N; Wong, Jenna; Carroll, Charlotte F; Frøslev, Trine; Sampson, Tim; Kappelman, Michael D

2013-12-01

The elderly represent a growing demographic of patients with IBD. No study has previously described variations in care or medication prescriptions in senior patients with IBD. We compared prescription rates among elderly patients with IBD in four countries using health administrative data. Databases from the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Denmark and Canada were queried. Variation in prescription rates between countries was assessed in patients ≥65y with prevalent IBD who had ≥1 prescription for an IBD-related medication in a given quarter between 2004 and 2009. Patients were identified using previously-reported, validated algorithms. Country-specific rates were compared in each quarter using Fisher's exact test. In patients with Crohn's disease, Canada and US had higher prescription rates for oral 5-ASA (P<0.0001 in all quarters) and infliximab (P<0.05 in 22/24 quarters), while the US had higher rates of thiopurine usage (P<0.05 in 23/24 quarters). Canada had greater rates of methotrexate prescriptions (P<0.05 in 21/24 quarters analyzed). In patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), rates of oral steroid usage was lowest in the US (P<0.05 in 22/24 quarters) and oral 5-ASA use was highest in the US and Canada (P<0.0001 in all quarters). Canada and Denmark used more rectal therapy than the US. Infliximab usage in UC was significantly higher in the US and Canada after 2006. Significant variation in medication prescription rates exists among countries. Future research should assess whether these differences were associated with disparities in outcomes and health care costs. Copyright © 2012 European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scandinavian systems monitoring the oral health in children and adolescents; an evaluation of their quality and utility in the light of modern perspectives of caries management

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Recording reliable oral health data is a challenge. The aims were a) to outline different Scandinavian systems of oral health monitoring, b) to evaluate the quality and utility of the collected data in the light of modern concepts of disease management and to suggest improvements. Material and methods The information for in this study was related to (a) children and adolescents, (b) oral health data and (c) routines for monitoring such data. This meant information available in the official web sites of the “KOSTRA-data” (Municipality-State-Report) in Norway, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (“Socialstyrelsen”) and Oral Health Register (the SCOR system, National Board of Health) in Denmark. Results A potential for increasing the reliability and validity of the data existed. Routines for monitoring other oral diseases than caries were limited. Compared with the other Scandinavian countries, the data collection system in Denmark appeared more functional and had adopted more modern concepts of disease management than other systems. In the light of modern concepts of caries management, data collected elsewhere had limited utility. Conclusions The Scandinavian systems of health reporting had much in common, but some essential differences existed. If the quality of epidemiological data were enhanced, it would be possible to use the data for planning oral health care. Routines and procedures should be improved and updated in accordance with the modern ideas about caries prevention and therapy. For appropriate oral health planning in an organised dental service, reporting of enamel caries is essential. PMID:24885243

A Nationwide Population-Based Approach to Study Health-Related and Psychosocial Aspects of Neurofibromatosis Type 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Jeanette Falck Winther CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: Danish Cancer Society Research Center Copenhagen, Denmark...Study Health-Related and Psychosocial Aspects of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT...Clinics in Denmark and a clinical geneticist with expertise in ethical aspects. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Neurofibromatosis type 1, population-based, nation

From Higher Education To Employment. Volume II: Canada, Denmark, Spain, United States = De l'enseignement superieur a l'emploi. Volume II: Canada, Danemark, Expagne, Etats-Unis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

This volume presents reports on the flows of graduates from higher education and on their entry into working life in Canada, Denmark, Spain and the United States. Each paper is written according to detailed guidelines designed to assemble information from many sources, to reflect the state of the art, and to illustrate a variety of approaches,…

Pilot-in-the-Loop CFD Method Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-30

Comparison of Actuator Disk and Actuator Line Wind Turbine Models and Best Practices for Their Use,” Paper AIAA 2012-0900, 50th AIAA Aerospace...Field Actuator Disc Model,” Wind Energy, Vol. 1, (2), 1998, pp. 73–88. [4] Leclerc, C., and Masson, C., “ Wind Turbine Performance Predictions Using a...6] Mikkelsen, R., “Actuator Disc Methods Applied to Wind Turbines ,” Ph.D. thesis, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark, 2003. [7

Work environment satisfaction and employee health: panel evidence from Denmark, France and Spain, 1994-2001.

PubMed

Datta Gupta, Nabanita; Kristensen, Nicolai

2008-02-01

This paper investigates whether a satisfactory work environment can promote employee health even after controlling for socioeconomic status and life style factors. A dynamic panel model of health is estimated from worker samples from Denmark, France and Spain, employing both self-assessed general health and the presence of a functional limitation. In all three countries and for both types of health measures, a good perceived work environment is found to be a highly significant determinant of worker health even after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and minimizing reverse causality. The marginal effect is, however, larger in France and Denmark than in Spain. Several potential explanations for this finding are discussed. Further, a satisfactory working environment is found to be at least as important for employee health as socioeconomic status. Thus, investing in giving workers a satisfying work environment could be a low-cost way of improving employee health.

Splenomegaly - Diagnostic validity, work-up, and underlying causes.

PubMed

Curovic Rotbain, Emelie; Lund Hansen, Dennis; Schaffalitzky de Muckadell, Ove; Wibrand, Flemming; Meldgaard Lund, Allan; Frederiksen, Henrik

2017-01-01

Our aim was to assess the validity of the ICD-10 code for splenomegaly in the Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP), as well as to investigate which underlying diseases explained the observed splenomegaly. Splenomegaly is a common finding in patients referred to an internal medical department and can be caused by a large spectrum of diseases, including haematological diseases and liver cirrhosis. However, some patients remain without a causal diagnosis, despite extensive medical work-up. We identified 129 patients through the DNRP, that had been given the ICD-10 splenomegaly diagnosis code in 1994-2013 at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, excluding patients with prior splenomegaly, malignant haematological neoplasia or liver cirrhosis. Medical records were reviewed for validity of the splenomegaly diagnosis, diagnostic work-up, and the underlying disease was determined. The positive predictive value (PPV) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for the splenomegaly diagnosis code. Patients with idiopathic splenomegaly in on-going follow-up were also invited to be investigated for Gaucher disease. The overall PPV was 92% (95% CI: 85, 96). Haematological diseases were the underlying causal diagnosis in 39%; hepatic diseases in 18%, infectious disease in 10% and other diseases in 8%. 25% of patients with splenomegaly remained without a causal diagnosis. Lymphoma was the most common haematological causal diagnosis and liver cirrhosis the most common hepatic causal diagnosis. None of the investigated patients with idiopathic splenomegaly had Gaucher disease. Our findings show that the splenomegaly diagnosis in the DNRP is valid and can be used in registry-based studies. However, because of suspected significant under-coding, it should be considered if supplementary data sources should be used in addition, in order to attain a more representative population. Haematological diseases were the most common cause, however in a large fraction of patients no causal diagnosis was found.

Sensory Over-Responsivity, Psychopathology, and Family Impairment in School-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Alice S.; Ben-Sasson, Ayelet; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.

2011-01-01

Objective: To establish the diagnostic validity of sensory overresponsivity (SOR), there is a need to document rates of SOR and the co-occurrence of SOR with other psychiatric disorders. Although this was not a diagnostic study of SOR, this study was designed to investigate rates of elevated SOR symptoms and associations between elevated SOR…

A Closer Look at Self-Reported Suicide Attempts: False Positives and False Negatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ploderl, Martin; Kralovec, Karl; Yazdi, Kurosch; Fartacek, Reinhold

2011-01-01

The validity of self-reported suicide attempt information is undermined by false positives (e.g., incidences without intent to die), or by unreported suicide attempts, referred to as false negatives. In a sample of 1,385 Austrian adults, we explored the occurrence of false positives and false negatives with detailed, probing questions. Removing…

Language Assessment of a Farsi-Norwegian Bilingual Speaker with Aphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koumanidi Knoph, Monica I.

2011-01-01

The increased occurrence of strokes combined with the high incidence of bilingualism in many regions of the world has led to an increasing number of bilingual adults with aphasia. The literature on bilingual aphasia shows the need for valid, comprehensive and reliable assessment tools for diagnostic and treatment purposes. In spite of a growing…

Statistical similarity measures for link prediction in heterogeneous complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakibian, Hadi; Charkari, Nasrollah Moghadam

2018-07-01

The majority of the link prediction measures in heterogeneous complex networks rely on the nodes connectivities while less attention has been paid to the importance of the nodes and paths. In this paper, we propose some new meta-path based statistical similarity measures to properly perform link prediction task. The main idea in the proposed measures is to drive some co-occurrence events in a number of co-occurrence matrices that are occurred between the visited nodes obeying a meta-path. The extracted co-occurrence matrices are analyzed in terms of the energy, inertia, local homogeneity, correlation, and information measure of correlation to determine various information theoretic measures. We evaluate the proposed measures, denoted as link energy, link inertia, link local homogeneity, link correlation, and link information measure of correlation, using a standard DBLP network data set. The results of the AUC score and Precision rate indicate the validity and accuracy of the proposed measures in comparison to the popular meta-path based similarity measures.

Nurses' systems thinking competency, medical error reporting, and the occurrence of adverse events: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Hwang, Jee-In; Park, Hyeoun-Ae

2017-12-01

Healthcare professionals' systems thinking is emphasized for patient safety. To report nurses' systems thinking competency, and its relationship with medical error reporting and the occurrence of adverse events. A cross-sectional survey using a previously validated Systems Thinking Scale (STS), was conducted. Nurses from two teaching hospitals were invited to participate in the survey. There were 407 (60.3%) completed surveys. The mean STS score was 54.5 (SD 7.3) out of 80. Nurses with higher STS scores were more likely to report medical errors (odds ratio (OR) = 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.08) and were less likely to be involved in the occurrence of adverse events (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.93-0.98). Nurses showed moderate systems thinking competency. Systems thinking was a significant factor associated with patient safety. Impact Statement: The findings of this study highlight the importance of enhancing nurses' systems thinking capacity to promote patient safety.

Modelling the spatial distribution of the nuisance mosquito species Anopheles plumbeus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Ibañez-Justicia, Adolfo; Cianci, Daniela

2015-05-01

Landscape modifications, urbanization or changes of use of rural-agricultural areas can create more favourable conditions for certain mosquito species and therefore indirectly cause nuisance problems for humans. This could potentially result in mosquito-borne disease outbreaks when the nuisance is caused by mosquito species that can transmit pathogens. Anopheles plumbeus is a nuisance mosquito species and a potential malaria vector. It is one of the most frequently observed species in the Netherlands. Information on the distribution of this species is essential for risk assessments. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential spatial distribution of An. plumbeus in the Netherlands. Random forest models were used to link the occurrence and the abundance of An. plumbeus with environmental features and to produce distribution maps in the Netherlands. Mosquito data were collected using a cross-sectional study design in the Netherlands, from April to October 2010-2013. The environmental data were obtained from satellite imagery and weather stations. Statistical measures (accuracy for the occurrence model and mean squared error for the abundance model) were used to evaluate the models performance. The models were externally validated. The maps show that forested areas (centre of the Netherlands) and the east of the country were predicted as suitable for An. plumbeus. In particular high suitability and high abundance was predicted in the south-eastern provinces Limburg and North Brabant. Elevation, precipitation, day and night temperature and vegetation indices were important predictors for calculating the probability of occurrence for An. plumbeus. The probability of occurrence, vegetation indices and precipitation were important for predicting its abundance. The AUC value was 0.73 and the error in the validation was 0.29; the mean squared error value was 0.12. The areas identified by the model as suitable and with high abundance of An. plumbeus, are consistent with the areas from which nuisance was reported. Our results can be helpful in the assessment of vector-borne disease risk.

Protocol of the Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial (FAST): a large prospective, randomised, open, blinded endpoint study comparing the cardiovascular safety of allopurinol and febuxostat in the management of symptomatic hyperuricaemia

PubMed Central

MacDonald, Thomas M; Ford, Ian; Nuki, George; Mackenzie, Isla S; De Caterina, Raffaele; Findlay, Evelyn; Hallas, Jesper; Hawkey, Christopher J; Ralston, Stuart; Walters, Matthew; Webster, John; McMurray, John; Perez Ruiz, Fernando; Jennings, Claudine G

2014-01-01

Introduction Gout affects 2.5% of the UK's adult population and is now the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. The long-term management of gout requires reduction of serum urate levels and this is most often achieved with use of xanthine oxidase inhibitors, such as allopurinol. Febuxostat is the first new xanthine oxidase inhibitor since allopurinol and was licensed for use in 2008. The European Medicines Agency requested a postlicensing cardiovascular safety study of febuxostat versus allopurinol, which has been named the Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined trial (FAST). Methods and analysis FAST is a cardiovascular safety study using the prospective, randomised, open, blinded endpoint design. FAST is recruiting in the UK and Denmark. Recruited patients are aged over 60 years, prescribed allopurinol for symptomatic hyperuricaemia and have at least one additional cardiovascular risk factor. After an allopurinol lead-in phase where the dose of allopurinol is optimised to achieve European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) urate targets (serum urate <357 µmol/L), patients are randomised to either continue optimal dose allopurinol or to use febuxostat. Patients are followed-up for an average of 3 years. The primary endpoint is first occurrence of the Anti-Platelet Trialists’ Collaboration (APTC) cardiovascular endpoint of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke or cardiovascular death. Secondary endpoints are all cause mortality and hospitalisations for heart failure, unstable, new or worsening angina, coronary or cerebral revascularisation, transient ischaemic attack, non-fatal cardiac arrest, venous and peripheral arterial vascular thrombotic event and arrhythmia with no evidence of ischaemia. The primary analysis is a non-inferiority analysis with a non-inferiority upper limit for the HR for the primary outcome of 1.3. Ethics and dissemination FAST (ISRCTN72443728) has ethical approval in the UK and Denmark, and results will be published in a peer reviewed journal. Trial Registration number FAST is registered in the EU Clinical Trials Register (EUDRACT No: 2011-001883-23) and International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register (ISRCTN No: ISRCTN72443728). PMID:25011991

From SYNOP to AMOC: Stirring by deep cyclones and the evolution of Denmark Strait Overflow Water observed at Line W

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andres, M.; Toole, J. M.; Torres, D. J.; Smethie, W. M., Jr.; Joyce, T. M.; Curry, R. G.

2016-02-01

Shipboard velocity and property data from 18 transects across the North Atlantic Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) near 40˚N are analyzed to study the evolution of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) component of the DWBC and its mixing with the interior. The transects were made between 1994 and 2014 and lie along Line W, which reaches from the continental shelf south of New England to Bermuda. Measurements comprise velocity from lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCPs), CTD profiles, and trace gas chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) concentrations from bottle samples at discrete depths at 26 regular stations or a subset of these stations. In each transect, DSOW exhibits a distinct CFC concentration maximum in the abyssal ocean (> 3000 m depth) along the sloped western boundary. Sea surface height (SSH) maps from satellite altimetry indicate that quasi-stationary meander troughs of the Gulf Stream path in the upper ocean were present at Line W during 5 of the 18 sections. For these 5 sections, the LADCP velocity sections suggest the upper ocean trough is accompanied by a large cyclone in the deep ocean in the DSOW density layer. The occurrence of deep cyclones in conjunction with Gulf Stream troughs as inferred from the LADCP sections along Line W is consistent with previous observations (from 1988 to 1990) in the region from a moored array in the Synoptic Ocean Prediction (SYNOP) experiment. The SYNOP array suggested deep cyclones are present here about 35% of the time. The composite velocity section produced from the 5 Line W transects sampling through a Gulf Stream trough suggests that a typical cyclone reaches swirl speeds of greater than 30 cm/s at 3400 m depth and has a radius (distance between the center and the maximum velocity) of 75 km. The tracer data suggest that these cyclones affect not only the deep velocity structure along Line W, but also provide a mechanism for water exchange between the DWBC and the interior.

Edited Responses to the Danish Narrative "Per Smed's Whip" from Readers in Denmark, Great Britain, India, and Nigeria in the Folktale Project. Folktale: A Cross-Cultural, Interdisciplinary Study of the Experience of Literature. Paper 8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dollerup, Cay; And Others

This paper, number eight in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 129 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

The Prevalence of Four Types of Childhood Maltreatment in Denmark

PubMed Central

Christoffersen, Mogens N; Armour, Cherie; Lasgaard, Mathias; Andersen, Tonny E; Elklit, Ask

2013-01-01

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of four types of childhood maltreatment in Denmark while taking into considerations how each of the types of maltreatment vary as a function of gender or child-protection status. Methods: Data were collected from a Danish national study conducted by The Danish National Centre for Social Research in 2008 and 2009. The study used a stratified random probability sample of young people aged 24 years. A sample of 4718 young adults were randomly selected by Statistics Denmark using the total birth cohort of all children born in 1984. The response rate was 63% leaving a total effective sample size of 2980. A structured residential or telephone interview enquired about a range of respondents maltreatment experiences. Results: Maltreatment is experienced by a significant proportion of Danish children. The reported prevalence rates were; physical neglect (3.0%), emotional abuse (5.2%), physical abuse (5.4%) and sexual abuse (3.4%). All trauma types were experienced by a greater percentage of females compared to males with the exception of physical abuse and all trauma types were experienced by a greater percentage of children given child-protection status. Conclusions: Female children and children who are given child protection status are those most at risk for experiencing maltreatment in Denmark. However, variability in prevalence rates of maltreatment across studies is problematic. Methodological variations and variation in abuse definitions may be partly attributable. PMID:24155769

Increased incidence of penile cancer and high-grade penile intraepithelial neoplasia in Denmark 1978-2008: a nationwide population-based study.

PubMed

Baldur-Felskov, Birgitte; Hannibal, Charlotte Gerd; Munk, Christian; Kjaer, Susanne K

2012-02-01

To assess the trends in incidence of penile cancer during 1978-2008 and high-grade penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN2/3) during 1998-2008 in Denmark. Using two nationwide registries, we estimated age- and period-specific incidence rates. Log-linear Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate average annual percentage change (AAPC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We identified 1,488 men with penile cancer and 285 men with PIN2/3. The incidence of penile cancer increased from 1.0 to 1.3 per 100,000 men-years in 1978-1979 to 2006-2008; this represented an AAPC of 0.8% (95% CI: 0.17-1.37). Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most common histological type (91.7%). The median age at diagnosis was 67 years, and the age-specific incidence rate of penile SCC increased with increasing age. The incidence rate of PIN2/3 increased significantly (0.5 to 0.9 per 100,000 men-years) in 1998-1999 to 2006-2008, and this represented an AAPC of 7.1% (95% CI: 3.30-11.05). The incidence of penile cancer increased in 1978-2008 in Denmark, and the same applied to PIN2/3 in 1998-2008. A high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and a low circumcision rate in Denmark may partly explain our results.

Doctoral prepared nurses in Denmark and their scientific production between 1976 and 2005.

PubMed

Bjørn, A; Hundrup, Y A; Wagner, L

2008-06-01

Nursing research in Denmark has evolved over the last 30 years. By 2005, 48 Danish nurses had earned a doctoral degree. The Danish Nurses Organization formalized a strategy for development of nursing research for the period 1999-2002. The strategy was evaluated in 2004. One point in the evaluation was that the nurses' publication of peer-reviewed articles in journals with an Impact Factor did not show in the bibliographic measure used in health sciences. The purpose of this study is to identify the number of Danish nurses holding a doctoral degree by the end of 2005 and to document their scientific production. A descriptive design based on a national register of all nurses in Denmark holding doctoral degrees was used to explore the curricula vitae and publication lists of 38 out of 48 (79%) nurses on the register. Authorship of all 48 graduated nurses was sought in the databases: PubMed and CINAHL. A pattern of growing engagement in publishing peer-reviewed articles was identified among the Danish nurses holding a doctoral degree. Fifty per cent of these doctoral prepared nurses published peer-reviewed papers. The majority apparently pursued a career in health sciences. Nursing as an academic discipline is evolving in Denmark but, with its roots in clinical nursing, scientists may have to be aware of the necessity to prevail as a discipline through scientific production.

Utilisation of antihyperglycaemic drugs in ten European countries: different developments and different levels.

PubMed

Melander, A; Folino-Gallo, P; Walley, T; Schwabe, U; Groop, P-H; Klaukka, T; Vallano, A; Laporte, J-R; Gallego, M R; Schiappa, M; Røder, M; Kampmann, J P; de Swaef, A; Aberg, M; Månsson, N-O; Lindblad, U

2006-09-01

The aim of this study was to compare developments in the utilisation of antihyperglycaemic drugs (AHGDs) in ten European countries. Data on the yearly utilisation of insulin and oral AHGDs were collected from public registers in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and were expressed as defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day. Total AGHD utilisation increased everywhere, but at different rates and levels. Insulin utilisation doubled in England and Germany, but hardly changed in Belgium, Portugal or Italy. Sulfonylurea utilisation doubled in Spain, England and Denmark but was reduced in Germany and Sweden. Metformin utilisation increased greatly everywhere. There were two- to three-fold differences in AHGD utilisation even between neighbouring countries. In Finland, there were more users of both insulin (+120%) and oral AHGDs (+80%) than in Denmark, and the daily oral AHGD doses were higher. In Denmark and Sweden, AHGD utilisation was equal in subjects aged <45 years, but in those >or=45 years of age, both insulin and oral AHGD utilisation were twice as high in Sweden. The ubiquitous increase in AHGD utilisation, particularly metformin, seems logical, considering the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and the results of the UK Prospective Diabetes Study. However, the large differences even between neighbouring countries are more difficult to explain, and suggest different habits and attitudes in terms of screening and management of type 2 diabetes.

Socio-economic inequality in preterm birth: a comparative study of the Nordic countries from 1981 to 2000.

PubMed

Petersen, Christina B; Mortensen, Laust H; Morgen, Camilla S; Madsen, Mia; Schnor, Ole; Arntzen, Annett; Gissler, Mika; Cnattingius, Sven; Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo

2009-01-01

During the 1980s and 1990s, there were large social and structural changes within the Nordic countries. Here we examine time changes in risks of preterm birth by maternal educational attainment in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Information on gestational age and maternal socio-economic position was obtained from the NorCHASE database, which includes comparable population-based register data of births from Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway from 1981 to 2000. The risks of very preterm birth (<32 gestational weeks) and moderately preterm birth (32-36 gestational weeks) were calculated by maternal educational attainment and analysed in 5-year intervals from 1981 to 2000. Compared with mothers with >12 years of education, mothers with <10 years of education had similarly increased risks of very, and to a lesser extent moderately, preterm birth in all four countries. The educational gradient increased slightly over time in very preterm births in Denmark, while there was a slight narrowing of the gap in Sweden. In moderately preterm births, the educational inequality gap was constant over the study period in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, but narrowed in Finland. The educational gradient in preterm birth remained broadly stable from 1981 to 2000 in all four countries. Consequently, the socio-economic inequalities in preterm birth were not strongly influenced by structural changes during the period.

Sick-leave decisions for patients with severe subjective health complaints presenting in primary care: A cross-sectional study in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Abstract Objectives The primary objective of this study was to explore whether general practitioners (GPs) in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark make similar or different decisions regarding sick leave for patients with severe subjective health complaints (SHC). The secondary objective was to investigate if patient diagnoses, the reasons attributed for patient complaints, and GP demographics could explain variations in sick leave decisions. Design A cross-sectional study. Method Video vignettes of GP consultations with nine different patients. Subjects 126 GPs in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Setting Primary care in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Main outcome measure Sick leave decisions made by GPs. Results “Psychological” diagnoses in Sweden were related to lower odds ratio (OR) of granting sick leave than in Norway (OR = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.01–0.83) Assessments of patient health, the risk of deterioration, and their ability to work predicted sick leave decisions. Specialists in general medicine grant significantly fewer sick leaves than non-specialists. Conclusion Sick-leave decisions made by GPs in the three countries were relatively similar. However, Swedish GPs were more reluctant to grant sick leave for patients with “psychological” diagnoses. Assessments regarding health-related factors were more important than diagnoses in sick-leave decisions. Specialist training may be of importance for sick-leave decisions. PMID:24164371

Objective validation of central sensitization in the rat UVB and heat rekindling model

PubMed Central

Weerasinghe, NS; Lumb, BM; Apps, R; Koutsikou, S; Murrell, JC

2014-01-01

Background The UVB and heat rekindling (UVB/HR) model shows potential as a translatable inflammatory pain model. However, the occurrence of central sensitization in this model, a fundamental mechanism underlying chronic pain, has been debated. Face, construct and predictive validity are key requisites of animal models; electromyogram (EMG) recordings were utilized to objectively demonstrate validity of the rat UVB/HR model. Methods The UVB/HR model was induced on the heel of the hind paw under anaesthesia. Mechanical withdrawal thresholds (MWTs) were obtained from biceps femoris EMG responses to a gradually increasing pinch at the mid hind paw region under alfaxalone anaesthesia, 96 h after UVB irradiation. MWT was compared between UVB/HR and SHAM-treated rats (anaesthetic only). Underlying central mechanisms in the model were pharmacologically validated by MWT measurement following intrathecal N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, MK-801, or saline. Results Secondary hyperalgesia was confirmed by a significantly lower pre-drug MWT {mean [±standard error of the mean (SEM)]} in UVB/HR [56.3 (±2.1) g/mm2, n = 15] compared with SHAM-treated rats [69.3 (±2.9) g/mm2, n = 8], confirming face validity of the model. Predictive validity was demonstrated by the attenuation of secondary hyperalgesia by MK-801, where mean (±SEM) MWT was significantly higher [77.2 (±5.9) g/mm2 n = 7] in comparison with pre-drug [57.8 (±3.5) g/mm2 n = 7] and saline [57.0 (±3.2) g/mm2 n = 8] at peak drug effect. The occurrence of central sensitization confirmed construct validity of the UVB/HR model. Conclusions This study used objective outcome measures of secondary hyperalgesia to validate the rat UVB/HR model as a translational model of inflammatory pain. What's already known about this topic? Most current animal chronic pain models lack translatability to human subjects. Primary hyperalgesia is an established feature of the UVB/heat rekindling inflammatory pain model in rodents and humans, but the presence of secondary hyperalgesia, a hallmark feature of central sensitization and thus chronic pain, is contentious. What does this study add? Secondary hyperalgesia was demonstrated in the rat UVB/heat rekindling model using an objective outcome measure (electromyogram), overcoming the subjective limitations of previous behavioural studies. PMID:24590815

Modelling the distributions and spatial coincidence of bluetongue vectors Culicoides imicola and the Culicoides obsoletus group throughout the Iberian peninsula.

PubMed

Calvete, C; Estrada, R; Miranda, M A; Borrás, D; Calvo, J H; Lucientes, J

2008-06-01

Data obtained by a Spanish national surveillance programme in 2005 were used to develop climatic models for predictions of the distribution of the bluetongue virus (BTV) vectors Culicoides imicola Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and the Culicoides obsoletus group Meigen throughout the Iberian peninsula. Models were generated using logistic regression to predict the probability of species occurrence at an 8-km spatial resolution. Predictor variables included the annual mean values and seasonalities of a remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a sun index, interpolated precipitation and temperature. Using an information-theoretic paradigm based on Akaike's criterion, a set of best models accounting for 95% of model selection certainty were selected and used to generate an average predictive model for each vector. The predictive performances (i.e. the discrimination capacity and calibration) of the average models were evaluated by both internal and external validation. External validation was achieved by comparing average model predictions with surveillance programme data obtained in 2004 and 2006. The discriminatory capacity of both models was found to be reasonably high. The estimated areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were 0.78 and 0.70 for the C. imicola and C. obsoletus group models, respectively, in external validation, and 0.81 and 0.75, respectively, in internal validation. The predictions of both models were in close agreement with the observed distribution patterns of both vectors. Both models, however, showed a systematic bias in their predicted probability of occurrence: observed occurrence was systematically overestimated for C. imicola and underestimated for the C. obsoletus group. Average models were used to determine the areas of spatial coincidence of the two vectors. Although their spatial distributions were highly complementary, areas of spatial coincidence were identified, mainly in Portugal and in the southwest of peninsular Spain. In a hypothetical scenario in which both Culicoides members had similar vectorial capacity for a BTV strain, these areas should be considered of special epidemiological concern because any epizootic event could be intensified by consecutive vector activity developed for both species during the year; consequently, the probability of BTV spreading to remaining areas occupied by both vectors might also be higher.

Implementation of a Forth-Order Aeroelastic Coupling into a Viscous-Inviscid Flow Solver with Experimental Validation (for One Degree of Freedom)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartholomay, Sirko; Ramos-García, Néstor; Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming; Technical University of Denmark (DTU)-WInd Energy Team

2014-11-01

The viscous-inviscid flow solver Q3UIC for 2D aerodynamics has recently been developed at the Technical University of Denmark. The Q3UIC solver takes viscous and unsteady effects into account by coupling an unsteady inviscid panel method with the integral boundary layer equations by means of a strong coupling between the viscous and inviscid parts, and in this respect differs from other classic panel codes e.g. Xfoil. In the current work a Runge-Kutta-Nyström scheme was employed to couple inertial, elastic and aerodynamical forces and moments calculated by Q3UIC for a two-dimensional blade section in the time-domain. Numerical simulations are validated by a three step experimental verification process carried out in the low-turbulence wind tunnel at DTU. First, a comparison against steady experiments for a NACA 64418 profile and a flexible trailing edge flap is presented for different fixed flap angles, and second, the measured aerodynamic characteristics considering prescribed motion of the airfoil with a moving flap are compared to the Q3UIC predictions. Finally, an aeroelastic experiment for one degree of freedom-airfoil pitching- is used to evaluate the accuracy of aeroelastic coupling.

CAROLS: a new airborne L-band radiometer for ocean surface and land observations.

PubMed

Zribi, Mehrez; Pardé, Mickael; Boutin, Jacquline; Fanise, Pascal; Hauser, Daniele; Dechambre, Monique; Kerr, Yann; Leduc-Leballeur, Marion; Reverdin, Gilles; Skou, Niels; Søbjærg, Sten; Albergel, Clement; Calvet, Jean Christophe; Wigneron, Jean Pierre; Lopez-Baeza, Ernesto; Rius, Antonio; Tenerelli, Joseph

2011-01-01

The "Cooperative Airborne Radiometer for Ocean and Land Studies" (CAROLS) L-Band radiometer was designed and built as a copy of the EMIRAD II radiometer constructed by the Technical University of Denmark team. It is a fully polarimetric and direct sampling correlation radiometer. It is installed on board a dedicated French ATR42 research aircraft, in conjunction with other airborne instruments (C-Band scatterometer-STORM, the GOLD-RTR GPS system, the infrared CIMEL radiometer and a visible wavelength camera). Following initial laboratory qualifications, three airborne campaigns involving 21 flights were carried out over South West France, the Valencia site and the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic Ocean) in 2007, 2008 and 2009, in coordination with in situ field campaigns. In order to validate the CAROLS data, various aircraft flight patterns and maneuvers were implemented, including straight horizontal flights, circular flights, wing and nose wags over the ocean. Analysis of the first two campaigns in 2007 and 2008 leads us to improve the CAROLS radiometer regarding isolation between channels and filter bandwidth. After implementation of these improvements, results show that the instrument is conforming to specification and is a useful tool for Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite validation as well as for specific studies on surface soil moisture or ocean salinity.

Year-round spatiotemporal distribution of harbour porpoises within and around the Maryland wind energy area

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Michael; Lyubchich, Vyacheslav; Roberts, Jason J.; Halpin, Patrick N.; Rice, Aaron N.; Bailey, Helen

2017-01-01

Offshore windfarms provide renewable energy, but activities during the construction phase can affect marine mammals. To understand how the construction of an offshore windfarm in the Maryland Wind Energy Area (WEA) off Maryland, USA, might impact harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), it is essential to determine their poorly understood year-round distribution. Although habitat-based models can help predict the occurrence of species in areas with limited or no sampling, they require validation to determine the accuracy of the predictions. Incorporating more than 18 months of harbour porpoise detection data from passive acoustic monitoring, generalized auto-regressive moving average and generalized additive models were used to investigate harbour porpoise occurrence within and around the Maryland WEA in relation to temporal and environmental variables. Acoustic detection metrics were compared to habitat-based density estimates derived from aerial and boat-based sightings to validate the model predictions. Harbour porpoises occurred significantly more frequently during January to May, and foraged significantly more often in the evenings to early mornings at sites within and outside the Maryland WEA. Harbour porpoise occurrence peaked at sea surface temperatures of 5°C and chlorophyll a concentrations of 4.5 to 7.4 mg m-3. The acoustic detections were significantly correlated with the predicted densities, except at the most inshore site. This study provides insight into previously unknown fine-scale spatial and temporal patterns in distribution of harbour porpoises offshore of Maryland. The results can be used to help inform future monitoring and mitigate the impacts of windfarm construction and other human activities. PMID:28467455

Year-round spatiotemporal distribution of harbour porpoises within and around the Maryland wind energy area.

PubMed

Wingfield, Jessica E; O'Brien, Michael; Lyubchich, Vyacheslav; Roberts, Jason J; Halpin, Patrick N; Rice, Aaron N; Bailey, Helen

2017-01-01

Offshore windfarms provide renewable energy, but activities during the construction phase can affect marine mammals. To understand how the construction of an offshore windfarm in the Maryland Wind Energy Area (WEA) off Maryland, USA, might impact harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), it is essential to determine their poorly understood year-round distribution. Although habitat-based models can help predict the occurrence of species in areas with limited or no sampling, they require validation to determine the accuracy of the predictions. Incorporating more than 18 months of harbour porpoise detection data from passive acoustic monitoring, generalized auto-regressive moving average and generalized additive models were used to investigate harbour porpoise occurrence within and around the Maryland WEA in relation to temporal and environmental variables. Acoustic detection metrics were compared to habitat-based density estimates derived from aerial and boat-based sightings to validate the model predictions. Harbour porpoises occurred significantly more frequently during January to May, and foraged significantly more often in the evenings to early mornings at sites within and outside the Maryland WEA. Harbour porpoise occurrence peaked at sea surface temperatures of 5°C and chlorophyll a concentrations of 4.5 to 7.4 mg m-3. The acoustic detections were significantly correlated with the predicted densities, except at the most inshore site. This study provides insight into previously unknown fine-scale spatial and temporal patterns in distribution of harbour porpoises offshore of Maryland. The results can be used to help inform future monitoring and mitigate the impacts of windfarm construction and other human activities.

Asylum seekers in Denmark--a study of health status and grade of traumatization of newly arrived asylum seekers.

PubMed

Masmas, Tania Nicole; Møller, Eva; Buhmannr, Caecilie; Bunch, Vibeke; Jensen, Jean Hald; Hansen, Trine Nørregård; Jørgensen, Louise Møller; Kjaer, Claes; Mannstaedt, Maiken; Oxholm, Annemette; Skau, Jutta; Theilade, Lotte; Worm, Lise; Ekstrøm, Morten

2008-01-01

An unknown number of asylum seekers arriving in Denmark have been exposed to torture or have experienced other traumatising events in their country of origin. The health of traumatised asylum seekers, both physically and mentally, is affected upon arrival to Denmark, and time in asylum centres leads to further deterioration in health. One hundred forty-two (N=142) newly arrived asylum seekers were examined at Center Sandholm by Amnesty International Danish Medical Group from the 1st of September until the 31st of December 2007. The asylum seekers came from 33 different countries, primarily representing Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Chechnya. Of the asylum seekers, 45 percent had been exposed to torture--approximately one-third within the year of arrival to Denmark. Unsystematic blows, personal threats or threats to family, degrading treatment, isolation, and witnessing torture of others were the main torture methods reported. The majority of the asylum seekers had witnessed armed conflict, persecution, and imprisonment. The study showed that physical symptoms were approximately twice as frequent and psychological symptoms were approximately two to three times as frequent among torture survivors as among non-tortured asylum seekers. However, even the health of non-tortured asylum seekers was affected. Among the torture survivors, 63 percent fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and 30-40 percent of the torture survivors were depressed, in anguish, anxious, and tearful in comparison to 5-10 percent of the non-tortured asylum seekers. Further, 42 percent of torture survivors had torture-related scars. Torture survivors amid newly arrived asylum seekers are an extremely vulnerable group, hence examination and inquiry about the torture history is extremely important in order to identify this population to initiate the necessary medical treatment and social assistance. Amnesty International Danish Medical group is currently planning a follow-up study of the present population which will focus on changes in health status during their time in Denmark.

Does drinking water influence hospital-admitted sialolithiasis on an epidemiological level in Denmark?

PubMed Central

Schrøder, Stine; Homøe, Preben; Wagner, Niels; Vataire, Anne-Lise; Lundager Madsen, Hans Erik; Bardow, Allan

2015-01-01

Objectives Sialolithiasis, or salivary stones, is not a rare disease of the major salivary glands. However, the aetiology and incidence remain largely unknown. Since sialoliths are comprised mainly of calcium phosphate salts, we hypothesise that drinking water calcium levels and other elements in drinking water could play a role in sialolithiasis. Owing to substantial intermunicipality differences in drinking water composition, Denmark constitutes a unique environment for testing such relations. Design An epidemiological study based on patient data extracted from the National Patient Registry and drinking water data from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland retrieved as weighted data on all major drinking water constituents for each of the 3364 waterworks in Denmark. All patient cases with International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes for sialolithiasis registered between the years 2000 and 2010 were included in the study (n=3014) and related to the drinking water composition on a municipality level (n=98). Primary and secondary outcome measures Multiple regression analysis using iterative search and testing among all demographic and drinking water variables with sialolithiasis incidence as the outcome in search of possible relations among the variables tested. Results The nationwide incidence of hospital-admitted sialolithiasis was 5.5 cases per 100 000 citizens per year in Denmark. Strong relations were found between the incidence of sialolithiasis and the drinking water concentration of calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate, however, in separate models (p<0.001). Analyses also confirmed correlations between drinking water calcium and magnesium and their concentration in saliva whereas this was not the case for hydrogen carbonate. Conclusions Differences in drinking water calcium and magnesium may play a role in the incidence of sialolithiasis. These findings are of interest because many countries have started large-scale desalination programmes of drinking water. PMID:25941183

Comparing the application of Health Information Technology in primary care in Denmark and Andalucía, Spain.

PubMed

Protti, Denis; Johansen, Ib; Perez-Torres, Francisco

2009-04-01

It is generally acknowledged that Denmark is one, if not the, leading country in terms of the use of information technology by its primary care physicians. Other countries, notably excluding the United States and Canada, are also advanced in terms of electronic medical records in general practitioner offices and clinics. This paper compares the status of primary care physician office computing in Andalucía to that of Denmark by contrasting the functionality of electronic medical records (EMRs) and the ability to electronically communicate clinical information in both jurisdictions. A novel scoring system has been developed based on data gathered from databases held by the respective jurisdictional programs, and interviews with individuals involved in the deployment of the systems. The scoring methodology was applied for the first time in a comparison of the degree of automation in primary care physician offices in Denmark and the province of Alberta in Canada. It was also used to compare Denmark and New Zealand. This paper is the third offering of this method of scoring the adoption of electronic medical records in primary care office settings which hopefully may be applicable to other health jurisdictions at national, state, or provincial levels. Although similar in many respects, there are significant differences between these two relatively autonomous health systems which have led to the rates of uptake of physician office computing. Particularly notable is the reality that the Danish primary care physicians have individual "Electronic Medical Records" while in Andalucía, the primary care physicians share a common record which when secondary care is fully implemented will indeed be an "Electronic Health Record". It is clear that the diffusion of technology, within the primary care physician sector of the health care market, is subject to historical, financial, legal, cultural, and social factors. This tale of two places illustrates the issues, and different ways that they have been addressed.

Scandinavian research in anaesthesiology 1981-2000: visibility and impact in EU and world context.

PubMed

Skram, U; Larsen, B; Ingwersen, P; Viby-Mogensen, J

2004-09-01

We wished to assess the development in number and impact of publications in anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine from 1981 to 2000 in the four Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. For comparison, we also analyzed data from the UK and the Netherlands. Publication and citation data from 1981 to 2000 were gathered from National Science Indicators (2001), covering 33 journals indexed in Current Contents. Data were analyzed in running 5-year periods. The following informetric indicators were used: absolute number of publications; absolute number of citations; absolute citation impact (average number of citations per publication per 5-year period); citation impact relative to the European Union and the world; and the percentage of cited papers from each country. The annual number of publications from Denmark was stable over the 20-year period. Sweden increased its production by 35%, while the remaining four countries showed increases from 100% to 146%. Thus, Sweden and Denmark lost visibility within the European Union (EU) and in world context. The EU and world citation shares of Finland and Norway increased slightly, whereas those of Sweden, Denmark, the UK, and the Netherlands all declined significantly. The absolute citation impact (ACI) increased for all the four Scandinavian countries. The ACI of the Netherlands did not change and was surpassed by all the Scandinavian countries by 1994-98, while the UK finished below the other five countries. (1) The annual number of publications from Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, and the Netherlands increased after the late eighties, whereas the net publication output from Denmark was stagnant over the 20-year period investigated; (2) the international publication and citation visibility of Finland and Norway increased slightly, as opposed to the significant decrease seen by the other four countries; (3) judging from the increase in absolute and relative citation impact and in the percentage of cited papers, the recognition of publications from the four Scandinavian countries increased over the past 20 years.

Barriers among Danish women and general practitioners to raising the issue of intimate partner violence in general practice: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Thirty-five percent of Danish women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. However, health care professionals are not in the practice of asking about intimate partner violence (IPV) in Denmark. It is currently unknown what hinders general practitioners from asking about partner violence and how Danish women would perceive such an inquiry. This aspect has not previously been explored in Denmark. An exploratory study was conducted to examine what hinders general practitioners (GPs) from asking and what Danish women’s views and attitudes are regarding being asked about IPV. Methods Data were collected through individual and group interviews with a sample of three GPs and a diverse sample of 13 women, including both survivors of partner violence and those without any history of partner violence. An interpretative analysis was performed with the data. Results This study provides important knowledge regarding the barriers and attitudes towards inquiry about IPV in primary care in Denmark. Results indicate that Denmark is facing the same challenges when responding to survivors of IPV as other similar countries, including Sweden, Norway, the UK, USA, and Australia. Danish women want general practitioners to ask about violence in a respectful and non-judgemental manner. However, general practitioners are resistant towards such an inquiry and would benefit from training regarding how to respond to women who have been exposed to IPV. Conclusions It is acceptable to inquire about IPV with women in Denmark in a non-judgemental and respectful way. Informing about IPV prevalence is important prior to the inquiry. However, general practitioners require more awareness and training before a favourable environment for this change in procedure can be created. Further large-scale research is needed to support the evidence generated by this small study. PMID:24893567

Epidemiology of forearm fractures in adults in Denmark: national age- and gender-specific incidence rates, ratio of forearm to hip fractures, and extent of surgical fracture repair in inpatients and outpatients.

PubMed

Abrahamsen, B; Jørgensen, N R; Schwarz, P

2015-01-01

National epidemiological studies of forearm fractures are scarce. We examined in- and outpatient rates in Denmark, including anatomical location, surgery, hospitalization ratio, recurrent fractures, and ratio of forearm to hip fractures. This may be useful for triangulation in countries with less detailed information. Rates were higher than previously estimated. Despite a significant contribution to the overall burden of osteoporotic, nonvertebral fractures, relatively little information is available about age- and gender-specific incidence rates for many countries including Denmark. We used national individual patient data on inpatient and outpatient treatment to calculate rates of forearm fractures, taking readmissions into account, with subtables for distal and proximal fractures. We also calculated ratios of forearm to hip fractures that may be useful when imputing forearm fracture rates from other administrative sources. In addition, we report the rates of hospital admission and the rates of surgical treatment, allowing readers to extrapolate from the number of admissions or surgical procedures to incidence rates, should their data sources be less comprehensive. Forearm fracture rates were 278 per 100,000 patient years in men aged 50+ and 1,110 per 100,000 in women aged 50+. The female to male incidence rate ratio was 4.0 for the age group 50+ but close to unity in persons aged 40 or under. Two thirds of patients were treated on an outpatient basis with little difference across age and gender strata. Four out of five fractures were treated conservatively. The rate of forearm fractures in Denmark was somewhat higher in both genders than recently imputed from hip fracture rates and were close to the rates previously reported in studies from Norway and Sweden. The rates of forearm fracture in Denmark are higher than previously estimated and very similar to the high risk reported from studies in Norway and Sweden.

Glacially induced faulting along the NW segment of the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone, northern Denmark: Implications for neotectonics and Lateglacial fault-bound basin formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandes, Christian; Steffen, Holger; Sandersen, Peter B. E.; Wu, Patrick; Winsemann, Jutta

2018-06-01

The Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone (STZ) is the northwestern segment of the Tornquist Zone and extends from Bornholm across the Baltic Sea and northern Denmark into the North Sea. It represents a major lithospheric structure with a significant increase in lithosphere thickness from south to north. A series of meter-scale normal faults and soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) are developed in Lateglacial marine and lacustrine sediments, which are exposed along the Lønstrup Klint cliff at the North Sea coast of northern Denmark. These deformed deposits occur in the local Nørre Lyngby basin that forms part of the STZ. Most of the SSDS are postdepositional, implying major tectonic activity between the Allerød and Younger Dryas (∼14 ka to 12 ka). The occurrence of some syn- and metadepositional SSDS point to an onset of tectonic activity at around 14.5 ka. The formation of normal faults is probably the effect of neotectonic movements along the Børglum fault, which represents the northern boundary fault of the STZ in the study area. The narrow and elongated Nørre Lyngby basin can be interpreted as a strike-slip basin that developed due to right-lateral movements at the Børglum fault. As indicated by the SSDS, these movements were most likely accompanied by earthquake(s). Based on the association of SSDS these earthquake(s) had magnitudes of at least Ms ≥ 4.2 or even up to magnitude ∼ 7 as indicated by a fault with 3 m displacement. The outcrop data are supported by a topographic analysis of the terrain that points to a strong impact from the fault activity on the topography, characterized by a highly regular erosional pattern, the evolution of fault-parallel sag ponds and a potential fault scarp with a height of 1-2 m. With finite-element simulations, we test the impact of Late Pleistocene (Weichselian) glaciation-induced Coulomb stress change on the reactivation potential of the Børglum fault. The numerical simulations of deglaciation-related lithospheric stress build-up additionally support that this neotectonic activity occurred between ∼14.5 and 12 ka and was controlled by stress changes that were induced by the decay of the Scandinavian ice sheet. In the Holocene, the stress field in the study area thus changed from GIA-controlled to a stress field that is determined by plate tectonic forces. Comparable observations were described from the central STZ in the Kattegat area and the southeastern end of the STZ near Bornholm. We therefore interpret the entire STZ as a structure where glacially induced faulting very likely occurred in Lateglacial times. The fault reactivation was associated with the formation of small fault-bound basins that provided accommodation space for Lateglacial to Holocene marine and freshwater sediments.

Application of passive sampling in assessing the occurrence and risk of antibiotics and endocrine disrupting chemicals in the Yangtze Estuary, China.

PubMed

Shi, X; Zhou, J L; Zhao, H; Hou, L; Yang, Y

2014-09-01

Polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) was used in assessing the occurrence and risk of 12 widely used antibiotics and 5 most potent endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the Yangtze Estuary, China. During laboratory validation, the kinetics of pollutant uptake by POCIS were linear, and the sampling rates of most compounds were raised by flow rate and salinity, reaching the highest values at salinity 14‰. The sampling rates varied with the target compounds with the EDCs showing the highest values (overall average=0.123Ld(-1)), followed by chloramphenicols (0.100Ld(-1)), macrolides (0.089Ld(-1)), and finally sulfonamides (0.056Ld(-1)). Validation in the Yangtze Estuary in 2013 showed that the field sampling rates were significantly greater for all compounds except bisphenol A, in comparison to laboratory results, and high-frequency spot sampling is critical for fully validating the passive sampler. The field studies show that antibiotics were widely detected in the Yangtze Estuary, with concentrations varying from below quantification to 1613ngL(-1), suggesting their widespread use and persistence in estuarine waters. The dominating pollutants in July were sulfonamides with a total concentration of 258ngL(-1) and in October were macrolides with a total concentration of 350ngL(-1). The calculation of risk quotient suggested that sulfapyridine, sulfaquinoxaline and erythromycin-H2O may have caused medium damage to sensitive organisms such as fish. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Regret of female sterilization].

PubMed

Öhman, Malin Charlotta; Andersen, Lars Franch

2015-11-16

Regret of sterilization is inversely correlated to age at the time of sterilization. The minimum age for legal sterilization in Denmark has recently been lowered to 18 years. In Denmark surgical refertilization has almost completely been replaced by in vitro fertilization (IVF). In recent literature pregnancy results after surgical refertilization are easily comparable to IVF. Refertilization may in some cases be advantageous to IVF treatment. Women requesting reversal of sterilization should be offered individualized evaluation and differentiated treatment. It is recommended that surgical refertilization is performed at very few centres.

Price restrictions and other restrictions on alcohol availability in Denmark and Sweden: a historical perspective with implications for the current debate.

PubMed

Lindström, Martin

2005-01-01

Current political debate in Sweden is mainly centred on lowering taxes on alcohol in order to "harmonize" prices with those in neighbouring countries, although the evidence of a negative association between prices and alcohol consumption is more than convincing. Total per capita consumption figures for twentieth-century Denmark and Sweden are utilized to illustrate the astonishing effects on consumption patterns of active government policies to restrict availability.

A Study of the School to Work Transition for Learning Disabled Students and the Learning Disabled Adult in Society in the Netherlands and Denmark. Final Report, April 14, 1984 to May 26, 1984.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerber, Paul Jay

The report summarizes findings of 6 weeks spent in the Netherlands and Denmark to study services provided to learning disabled (LD) young adults and adults. The school to work transition for LD students is examined along with the LD adult in society, and comparisons are made between Dutch and Danish approaches. The Dutch system, highly structured…

[Publication of healthcare quality data to citizens--status and perspectives].

PubMed

Utzon, Jan; Kaergaard, Johan

2009-05-11

Public quality reports are intended to stimulate active consumer participation by enabling consumers to make informed choices about their healthcare providers. Despite all efforts, public reporting has been shown not to be effective in stimulating consumers to choose their healthcare provider based on performance information in Denmark and other countries. Numerous barriers are identified. In an effort to move towards an effective public reporting system in Denmark, the present article discusses how quality information can be made accessible and meaningful to wider groups of consumers.

New Tools for Learning: A Case of Organizational Problem Analysis Derived from Debriefing Records in a Medical Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holzmann, Vered; Mischari, Shoshana; Goldberg, Shoshana; Ziv, Amitai

2012-01-01

Purpose: This article aims to present a unique systematic and validated method for creating a linkage between past experiences and management of future occurrences in an organization. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on actual data accumulated in a series of projects performed in a major medical center. Qualitative and quantitative…

Using Qualitative Methods to Guide Scale Development for Anxiety in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bearss, Karen; Taylor, Christopher A.; Aman, Michael G.; Whittemore, Robin; Lecavalier, Luc; Miller, Judith; Pritchett, Jill; Green, Bryson; Scahill, Lawrence

2016-01-01

Anxiety is common in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Despite this common co-occurrence, studies targeting anxiety in this population are hindered by the under-developed state of measures in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Content validity (the extent to which an instrument measures the domain of interest) and an instrument's relevance to…

Prediction of high-risk areas for visceral leishmaniasis using socioeconomic indicators and remote sensing data

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Spatial heterogeneity in the incidence of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important aspect to be considered in planning control actions for the disease. The objective of this study was to predict areas at high risk for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) based on socioeconomic indicators and remote sensing data. We applied classification and regression trees to develop and validate prediction models. Performance of the models was assessed by means of sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve. The model developed was able to discriminate 15 subsets of census tracts (CT) with different probabilities of containing CT with high risk of VL occurrence. The model presented, respectively, in the validation and learning samples, sensitivity of 79% and 52%, specificity of 75% and 66%, and area under the ROC curve of 83% and 66%. Considering the complex network of factors involved in the occurrence of VL in urban areas, the results of this study showed that the development of a predictive model for VL might be feasible and useful for guiding interventions against the disease, but it is still a challenge as demonstrated by the unsatisfactory predictive performance of the model developed. PMID:24885128

A signal processing based analysis and prediction of seizure onset in patients with epilepsy

PubMed Central

Namazi, Hamidreza; Kulish, Vladimir V.

2016-01-01

One of the main areas of behavioural neuroscience is forecasting the human behaviour. Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain becomes disrupted, causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, sensations and sometimes loss of consciousness. An estimated 5% of the world population has epileptic seizure but there is not any method to cure it. More than 30% of people with epilepsy cannot control seizure. Epileptic seizure prediction, refers to forecasting the occurrence of epileptic seizures, is one of the most important but challenging problems in biomedical sciences, across the world. In this research we propose a new methodology which is based on studying the EEG signals using two measures, the Hurst exponent and fractal dimension. In order to validate the proposed method, it is applied to epileptic EEG signals of patients by computing the Hurst exponent and fractal dimension, and then the results are validated versus the reference data. The results of these analyses show that we are able to forecast the onset of a seizure on average of 25.76 seconds before the time of occurrence. PMID:26586477

Cross-cultural perspectives on the concept of retirement: An analytic redefinition

PubMed Central

LUBORSKY, MARK R.; LEBLANC, IAN M.

2014-01-01

A cross-cultural valid analytic definition of retirement remains elusive in gerontology despite a long tradition of research on the topic. Inadequate attention has been paid to consistently defining the key concepts used to examine retirement and to specifying its occurrence in non-Western, non-industrial societies. This paper critically reviews basic cultural tenets in the notion of retirement, and proposes a more comparatively valid definition. It then proposes a three part comparative categorization by exploring retirement in contemporary Western nations and comparing it with retirement-like practices from a range of non-Western cultures including Thai, Chinese, Ladak, Fulani, Lusi and Aymara. PMID:14654730

A simple model of carbon in the soil profile for agricultural soils in Northwestern Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taghizadeh-Toosi, Arezoo; Hutchings, Nicholas J.; Vejlin, Jonas; Christensen, Bent T.; Olesen, Jørgen E.

2014-05-01

World soil carbon (C) stocks are second to those in the ocean, and represent three times as much C as currently present in the atmosphere. The amount of C in soil may play a significant role in carbon exchanges between the atmosphere and the terrestrial environment. The C-TOOL model is a three-pool linked soil organic carbon (SOC) model in well-drained mineral soils under agricultural land management to allow generalized parameterization for estimating effects of management measures at medium to long time scales for the entire soil profile (0-100 cm). C-TOOL has been developed to enable simulations of SOC turnover in soil using temperature dependent first order kinetics for describing decomposition. Compared with many other SOC models, C-TOOL applies a less complicated structure, which facilitates easier calibration, and it requires only few inputs (i.e., average monthly air temperature, soil clay content,soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and C inputs to the soil from plants and other sources). C-TOOL was parameterized using SOC and radiocarbon data from selected long-term field treatments in United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark. However, less data were available for evaluation of subsoil C (25-100 cm) from the long-term experiments applied. In Denmark a national 7×7 km grid net was established in 1986 for soil C monitoring down to 100 cm depth. The results of SOC showed a significant decline from 1997 to 2009 in the 0-50 cm soil layer. This was mainly attributed to changes in the 25-50 cm layer, where a decline in SOC was found for all soil texture types. Across the period 1986 to 2009 there was clear tendency for increasing SOC on the sandy soils and reductions on the loamy soils. This effect is linked to land use, since grasslands and dairy farms are more abundant in the western parts of Denmark, where most of the sandy soils are located. The results and the data from soil monitoring have been used to validate the C-TOOL modelling approach used for accounting of changes in SOC of Danish agricultural soils and for verification of the national inventories of SOC changes in agricultural soils. Future work will focus on further evaluating effects on subsoil C as well as improving the estimation of C inputs, particularly root C input at different soil depth. Key words: Soil organic carbon, modelling, C-TOOL, agriculture, management, grassland

4-Nonylphenol (NP) in food-contact materials: analytical methodology and occurrence.

PubMed

Fernandes, A R; Rose, M; Charlton, C

2008-03-01

Nonylphenol is a recognized environmental contaminant, but it is unclear whether its occurrence in food arises only through environmental pathways or also during the processing or packaging of food, as there are reports that indicate that materials in contact with food such as rubber products and polyvinylchloride wraps can contain nonylphenol. A review of the literature has highlighted the scarcity of robust analytical methodology or data on the occurrence of nonylphenol in packaging materials. This paper describes a methodology for the determination of nonylphenol in a variety of packaging materials, which includes plastics, paper and rubber. The method uses either Soxhlet extraction or dissolution followed by solvent extraction (depending on the material type), followed by purification using adsorption chromatography. Procedures were internally standardized using 13C-labelled nonylphenol and the analytes were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The method is validated and data relating to quality parameters such as limits of detection, recovery, precision and linearity of measurement are provided. Analysis of a range of 25 food-contact materials found nonylphenol at concentrations of 64-287 microg g(-1) in some polystyrene and polyvinylchloride samples. Far lower concentrations (<0.03-1.4 microg g(-1)) were detected in the other materials. It is possible that occurrence at the higher levels has the potential for migration to food.

Educational inequalities in parental care time: Cross-national evidence from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Gracia, Pablo; Ghysels, Joris

2017-03-01

This study uses time-diary data for dual-earner couples from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom to analyze educational inequalities in parental care time in different national contexts. For mothers, education is significantly associated with parenting involvement only in Spain and the United Kingdom. In Spain these differences are largely explained by inequalities in mothers' time and monetary resources, but not in the United Kingdom, where less-educated mothers disproportionally work in short part-time jobs. For fathers, education is associated with parenting time in Denmark, and particularly in Spain, while the wife's resources substantially drive these associations. On weekends, the educational gradient in parental care time applies only to Spain and the United Kingdom, two countries with particularly large inequalities in parents' opportunities to engage in parenting. The study shows country variations in educational inequalities in parenting, suggesting that socioeconomic resources, especially from mothers, shape important variations in parenting involvement. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The transition to non-lead rifle ammunition in Denmark: National obligations and policy considerations.

PubMed

Kanstrup, Niels; Thomas, Vernon G; Krone, Oliver; Gremse, Carl

2016-09-01

The issue of Denmark regulating use of lead-free rifle ammunition because of potential risks of lead exposure in wildlife and humans was examined from a scientific and objective policy perspective. The consequences of adopting or rejecting such regulation were identified. Denmark is obliged to examine this topic because of its national policy on lead reduction, its being a Party to the UN Bonn Convention on Migratory Species, and its role in protecting White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), a species prone to lead poisoning from lead ingestion. Lead-free bullets suited for deer hunting are available at comparable cost to lead bullets, and have been demonstrated to be as effective. National adoption of lead-free bullets would complete the Danish transition to lead-free ammunition use. It would reduce the risk of lead exposure to scavenging wildlife, and humans who might eat lead-contaminated wild game meat. Opposition from hunting organizations would be expected.

Molecular Typing and Epidemiology of Human Listeriosis Cases, Denmark, 2002-2012.

PubMed

Jensen, Anne Kvistholm; Björkman, Jonas T; Ethelberg, Steen; Kiil, Kristoffer; Kemp, Michael; Nielsen, Eva Møller

2016-04-01

Denmark has a high incidence of invasive listeriosis (0.9 cases/100,000 population in 2012). We analyzed patient data, clinical outcome, and trends in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated in Denmark during 2002-2012. We performed 2-enzyme PFGE and serotyping on 559 isolates and MLST on 92 isolates and identified some correlation between molecular type and clinical outcome and patient characteristics. We found 178 different PFGE types, but isolates from 122 cases belonged to just 2 closely related PFGE types, clonal complex 8 and sequence type 8. These 2 types were the main cause of a peak in incidence of invasive listeriosis during 2005-2009, possibly representing an outbreak or the presence of a highly prevalent clone. However, current typing methods could not fully confirm these possibilities, highlighting the need for more refined discriminatory typing methods to identify outbreaks within frequently occurring L. monocytogenes PFGE types.

Molecular Typing and Epidemiology of Human Listeriosis Cases, Denmark, 2002–20121

PubMed Central

Björkman, Jonas T.; Ethelberg, Steen; Kiil, Kristoffer; Kemp, Michael; Nielsen, Eva Møller

2016-01-01

Denmark has a high incidence of invasive listeriosis (0.9 cases/100,000 population in 2012). We analyzed patient data, clinical outcome, and trends in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated in Denmark during 2002–2012. We performed 2-enzyme PFGE and serotyping on 559 isolates and MLST on 92 isolates and identified some correlation between molecular type and clinical outcome and patient characteristics. We found 178 different PFGE types, but isolates from 122 cases belonged to just 2 closely related PFGE types, clonal complex 8 and sequence type 8. These 2 types were the main cause of a peak in incidence of invasive listeriosis during 2005–2009, possibly representing an outbreak or the presence of a highly prevalent clone. However, current typing methods could not fully confirm these possibilities, highlighting the need for more refined discriminatory typing methods to identify outbreaks within frequently occurring L. monocytogenes PFGE types. PMID:26982714

The Dynamics of Paid and Unpaid Activities Among People Aged 50–69 in Denmark, France, Italy, and England

PubMed Central

Grundy, Emily

2016-01-01

In the context of the current policy emphasis on extending working lives, we investigate whether the relationship between participation in paid work, other formal, and informal activities among people aged 50–69 is complementary or competitive. We also investigate differences in associations between countries using comparable longitudinal data from Denmark, France, Italy, and England. We find positive associations between informal and formal engagement in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Paid work was negatively associated with formal and informal engagement, and respondents who stopped working were more likely to be engaged in formal (Denmark and France) and informal activities (England and Italy) at follow-up than respondents who continued working. However, the strongest predictor of formal and informal engagement at follow-up was baseline engagement. In the context of policy aims to extend working lives and broaden older people’s participation in other productive activities, new balances between work and other forms of engagement are still to be found. PMID:27302075

Effect of European Clinical Trials Directive on academic drug trials in Denmark: retrospective study of applications to the Danish Medicines Agency 1993-2006.

PubMed

Berendt, Louise; Håkansson, Cecilia; Bach, Karin Friis; Dalhoff, Kim; Andreasen, Per Buch; Petersen, Lene Grejs; Andersen, Elin; Poulsen, Henrik Enghusen

2008-01-05

To determine the impact of the European Union's Clinical Trials Directive on the number of academic drug trials carried out in Denmark. Retrospective review of applications for drug trials to the Danish Medicines Agency, 1993-2006. Applications for drug trials for alternate years were classified as academic or commercial trials. A random subset of academic trials was reviewed for number of participants in and intended monitoring of the trials. Academic and commercial drug trials showed an identical steady decline from 1993 to 2006 and no noticeable change after 2004 when good clinical practice became mandatory for academic trials. The Clinical Trials Directive introduced in May 2004 to ensure good clinical practice for academic drug trials was not associated with a decline in research activity in Denmark; presumably because good clinical practice units had already been in place in Danish universities since 1999. With such an infrastructure academic researchers can do drug trials under the same regulations as drug companies.

Research on the spatial-temporal distribution and development mode for renewable energy in Germany and Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Nana; Xie, Guohui

2018-06-01

Abstract—Global renewable energy have maintained a steady growth in recent years under the support of national policies and energy demand. Resource distribution, land supply, economy, voltage class and other relevant conditions affect the renewable energy distribution and development mode. Therefore, is necessary to analyze the spatial-temporal distribution and development modes for renewable energy, so as to provide reference and guidance for the renewable energy development around world. Firstly, the definitions and influence factors the renewable energy development mode are compared and summarized. Secondly, the renewable energy spatial-temporal distribution in Germany and Denmark are provided. Wind and solar power installations account for the largest proportion of all renewable energy in Germany and Denmark. Finally, renewable energy development modes are studied. The distributed photovoltaic generation accounts for more than 95%, and distributed wind power generation installations account for over 85% in Germany. Solar and wind resources are developed with distributed development mode, in which distributed wind power installation accounts for over 75%.

Increased Incidence Rate of Trauma- and Stressor-related Disorders in Denmark After the Breivik Attacks in Norway.

PubMed

Hansen, Bertel T; Dinesen, Peter T; Østergaard, Søren D

2017-11-01

On 22 July 2011, Anders Breivik killed 77 adults and children in Norway. Having recently documented increases in the incidence of trauma- and stressor-related disorders in Denmark after the 9/11 attacks, we hypothesized that the Breivik attacks-due to their geographic proximity-would be followed by even larger increases in Denmark. Using population-based data from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (1995-2012), we conducted an intervention analysis of the change in the incidence of trauma- and stressor-related disorders after the Breivik attacks. The incidence rate increased by 16% over the following 1½ years after the Breivik attacks, corresponding to 2736 additional cases. In comparison, 9/11 was followed by a 4% increase. We also present evidence of a subsequent surge in incidence stimulated by media attention. This study bolsters previous findings on extra-national consequences of terrorism and indicates that geographic proximity and media coverage may exacerbate effects.

Occurrence of veterinary pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment in Flanders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Servaes, K.; Vanermen, G.; Seuntjens, P.

2009-04-01

There is a growing interest in the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. Pharmaceuticals are classified as so-called ‘emerging pollutants'. ‘Emerging pollutants' are not necessarily new chemical compounds. Often these compounds are already present in the environment for a long time. But, their occurrence and especially their impact on the environment has only recently become clear. Consequently, data on their occurrence are rather scarce. In this study, we focus on the occurrence of veterinary pharmaceuticals in surface water in Flanders. We have only considered active substances administered to cattle, pigs and poultry. Based on the literature and information concerning the use in Belgium, a selection of 25 veterinary pharmaceuticals has been made. This selection consists of the most important antibiotics and antiparasitic substances applied in veterinary medicine in Belgium. We develop an analytical methodology based on UPLC-MS/MS for the detection of these veterinary pharmaceuticals in surface water. Therefore, the mass characteristics as well as the optimum LC conditions will be determined. To obtain limits of detection as low as possible, the samples are concentrated prior to analysis using solid phase extraction (SPE). Different SPE cartridges will be tested during the method development. At first, this SPE sample pre-treatment is performed off-line. In a next step, online SPE is optimized for this purpose. The analytical procedure will be subject to an in-house validation study, thereby determining recovery, repeatability (% RSD), limits of detection and limits of quantification. Finally, the developed methodology will be applied for monitoring the occurrence of veterinary pharmaceuticals in surface water and groundwater in Flanders. These water samples will be taken in areas characterized by intensive cattle breeding. Moreover, the samples will be collected during springtime. In this season, farmers apply manure, stored during winter, onto the fields.

Bovine virus diarrhea virus in free-living deer from Denmark.

PubMed

Nielsen, S S; Roensholt, L; Bitsch, V

2000-07-01

Free-living deer are suggested as a possible source of infection of cattle with bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) virus. To examine this hypothesis blood samples from 476 free-living deer were collected during two different periods and tested for BVD virus and antibody in Denmark. In 1995-96, 207 animals were tested. These included 149 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 29 fallow deer (Dama dama), 20 red deer (Cervus elaphus) and one sika deer (Cervus sika). For the remaining eight animals no species information was available. In 1998-99, 269 animals were tested including 212 roe deer and 57 red deer. The animals were selected from areas with a relatively high prevalence of cattle herds with a BVD persistent infection status in 1997 and 1998. All 207 samples from 1995-96 were found antibody-negative except two samples from red deer. Only 158 of the 207 samples were tested for virus and were all found negative. Of the 269 samples from 1998-99 all but one were antibody negative. The positive sample was from a red deer. All samples were virus-negative. It appears that BVD infection does not occur in roe deer in Denmark. The presence of antibody in a few red deer from various districts in Jutland probably results from cattle to deer transmission, rather than spread among deer. Hence, the possibility of free-living deer as a source of infection for cattle in Denmark seems to be remote.

The Danish National Health Survey 2010. Study design and respondent characteristics.

PubMed

Christensen, Anne Illemann; Ekholm, Ola; Glümer, Charlotte; Andreasen, Anne Helms; Hvidberg, Michael Falk; Kristensen, Peter Lund; Larsen, Finn Breinholt; Ortiz, Britta; Juel, Knud

2012-06-01

In 2010 the five Danish regions and the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark conducted a national representative health survey among the adult population in Denmark. This paper describes the study design and the sample and study population as well as the content of the questionnaire. The survey was based on five regional stratified random samples and one national random sample. The samples were mutually exclusive. A total of 298,550 individuals (16 years or older) were invited to participate. Information was collected using a mixed mode approach (paper and web questionnaires). A questionnaire with a minimum of 52 core questions was used in all six subsamples. Calibrated weights were computed in order to take account of the complex survey design and reduce non-response bias. In all, 177,639 individuals completed the questionnaire (59.5%). The response rate varied from 52.3% in the Capital Region of Denmark sample to 65.5% in the North Denmark Region sample. The response rate was particularly low among young men, unmarried people and among individuals with a different ethnic background than Danish. The survey was a result of extensive national cooperation across sectors, which makes it unique in its field of application, e.g. health surveillance, planning and prioritizing public health initiatives and research. However, the low response rate in some subgroups of the study population can pose problems in generalizing data, and efforts to increase the response rate will be important in the forthcoming surveys.

Labour force activity after 65: what explain recent trends in Denmark, Germany and Sweden?

PubMed

Larsen, Mona; Pedersen, Peder J

2017-01-01

In most OECD member countries labour force attachment, has increased in recent years not only in the age groups 60-64 years but also among people 65 years and older. Focus in this paper is on the trend in older workers' labour force participation in Denmark, Germany and Sweden since 2004. Main emphasis is given to people aged 65-69 years eligible for social security retirement programs from age 65. The gender aspect is included to accommodate different trends for women and men. To explain country differences in trends, the importance of changes in retirement policies of relevance for this age group and cohort relevant changes in education and health is examined and discussed. Further, country differences in the impact from education and health is examined. Results show that the largest increase in labour force participation among people aged 65-69 years has taken place in Sweden following by Germany, while the increase in Denmark is rather small. While the increase in Germany mainly seems to be a result of policy reforms, the increase in Sweden appear to be a result of a combination of policy changes and an increasing educational level. Financial incentives seem most important in Germany and only of minor importance in Denmark, where policy changes directed towards individuals above the age of 65 appear to have been too small so far to affect retirement behaviour significantly.

Study on drug costs associated with COPD prescription medicine in Denmark.

PubMed

Jakobsen, Marie; Anker, Niels; Dollerup, Jens; Poulsen, Peter Bo; Lange, Peter

2013-10-01

Spirometric studies of the general population estimate that 430 000 Danes have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is mainly caused by smoking, and smoking cessation is the most important intervention to prevent disease progression. Cost-of-illness studies conclude that the costs associated with COPD in Denmark are significant, but costs of prescription medicine for COPD were not analysed. To analyse the societal costs associated with prescription medicine for COPD in Denmark. The study was designed as a nationwide retrospective register study of the drug costs (ATC group R03) associated with COPD in the period 2001-2010. Data were retrieved from the Prescription Database, the National Patient Register and the Centralised Civil Register. The population comprised individuals (40+ years) who had at least one prescription of selected R03 drugs and who had been either hospitalised with a COPD diagnosis or had at least one prescription for drugs primarily used for COPD. The study population comprised 166 462 individuals of which 97 916 were alive on 31 December 2010. The average annual drug costs (R03) were DKK 7842 (EUR 1055) per patient in 2010 with total costs of DKK 685 million (EUR 92 million). The average lifetime costs associated with COPD prescription medicine were estimated to be DKK 70 000-75 000 (EUR 9416-10 089) per patient (2010 prices). The costs associated with prescription medicine for COPD in Denmark are significant. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparing sensitivity and specificity of screening mammography in the United States and Denmark

PubMed Central

Jacobsen, Katja Kemp; O'Meara, Ellen S.; Key, Dustin; Buist, Diana SM; Kerlikowske, Karla; Vejborg, Ilse; Sprague, Brian L.; Lynge, Elsebeth; von Euler-Chelpin, My

2015-01-01

Delivery of screening mammography differs substantially between the United States (US) and Denmark. We evaluate whether there are differences in screening sensitivity and specificity. We included screens from women screened at age 50-69 years during 1996-2008/2009 in the US Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) (n=2,872,791), and from two population-based mammography screening programs in Denmark (Copenhagen, n=148,156 and Funen, n=275,553). Women were followed for one year. For initial screens, recall rate was significantly higher in BCSC (17.6%) than in Copenhagen (4.3%) and Funen (3.1%). Sensitivity was fairly similar in BCSC (91.8%) and Copenhagen (90.5%) and Funen (92.5%). At subsequent screens, recall rates were 8.8%, 1.8% and 1.4% in BCSC, Copenhagen and Funen, respectively. The BCSC sensitivity (82.3%) was lower compared to Copenhagen (88.9%) and Funen (86.9%), but when stratified by time since last screen, the sensitivity was similar. For both initial and subsequent screening, the specificity of screening in BCSC (83.2 and 91.6%) was significantly lower than in Copenhagen (96.6 and 98.8%) and Funen. (97.9 and 99.2%). Taking time since last screen into account, American and Danish women had the same probability of having their asymptomatic cancers detected at screening. However, the majority of women free of asymptomatic cancers experienced more harms in terms of false-positive findings in the US than in Denmark. PMID:25944711

Present status, actions taken and future considerations due to the findings of E. multilocularis in two Scandinavian countries.

PubMed

Wahlström, Helene; Enemark, Heidi L; Davidson, Rebecca K; Oksanen, Antti

2015-10-30

When Echinococcus (E.) multilocularis was first detected in mainland Scandinavia in Denmark in 2000, surveillance was initiated/intensified in Sweden, mainland Norway and Finland. After 10 years of surveillance these countries all fulfilled the requirements of freedom from E. multilocularis as defined by the EU, i.e. a prevalence in final hosts <1% with 95% confidence level. However, in 2011 E. multilocularis was detected in Sweden for the first time and surveillance was increased in all four countries. Finland and mainland Norway are currently considered free from E. multilocularis, whereas the prevalence in foxes in Sweden and Denmark is approximately 0.1% and 1.0%, respectively. E. multilocularis has been found in foxes from three different areas in Denmark: Copenhagen (2000), Højer (2012-14) and Grindsted (2014). Unlike Sweden, Norway and Finland, human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is not notifiable in Denmark, and the number of human cases is therefore unknown. In Sweden, E. multilocularis has been found in foxes in four counties, Västra Götaland, Södermanland, Dalarna (2011) and Småland (2014). E. multilocularis has also been found in an intermediate host in Södermanland (2014). Two cases of AE have been reported in humans (2012), both infected abroad. No cases of E. multilocularis or AE have been reported in Finland and Norway. Recommendations and future considerations are discussed further. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Swiss (German) Version of the Actinic Keratosis Quality of Life questionnaire.

PubMed

Meier, Larissa S; Schubert, Maria; Göksu, Yasemin; Esmann, Solveig; Vinding, Gabrielle R; Jemec, Gregor B E; Hofbauer, Günther F L

2018-04-18

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a sun-induced skin lesion that may progress to invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Recently, the Actinic Keratosis Quality of Life questionnaire (AKQoL) was designed for patients with AK in Denmark as a specific quality of life instrument for AK patients. The objective of this study was to adapt the AKQoL for the German language region of Switzerland and to evaluate its psychometric properties (validity, reliability). Translation and cultural adaptation of the questionnaire were assessed by using the technique of cognitive interviewing. During the translation process, 34 patients with AK from the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, were interviewed in 3 sessions of cognitive interviewing. The translated questionnaire was then distributed together with the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to a second group of 113 patients for validation and reliability testing. Within this group, we measured the internal consistency by the Cronbach coefficient α and Spearman correlation coefficient between the AKQoL and the DLQI. The problems encountered during the translation process led to changes in 5 categories as described by Epstein: stylistic changes, change in breadth, change in actual meaning, change in frequency and time frame, change in intensity. We found a Cronbach α of 0.82, an acceptable internal consistency. The Spearman correlation coefficient between total scores of AKQoL and DLQI was 0.57. We culturally adapted and validated a Swiss (German) version of the AKQoL questionnaire applicable for the population of a university center in Switzerland to measure and monitor the quality of life in patients with AK. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Dietary Assessment in the MetaCardis Study: Development and Relative Validity of an Online Food Frequency Questionnaire.

PubMed

Verger, Eric O; Armstrong, Patrice; Nielsen, Trine; Chakaroun, Rima; Aron-Wisnewsky, Judith; Gøbel, Rikke Juul; Schütz, Tatjana; Delaere, Fabien; Gausseres, Nicolas; Clément, Karine; Holmes, Bridget A

2017-06-01

The European study MetaCardis aims to investigate the role of the gut microbiota in health and cardiometabolic diseases in France, Germany, and Denmark. To evaluate long-term diet-disease relationships, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was found to be the most relevant dietary assessment method for the MetaCardis study. The objectives of this study were to describe the development of three semiquantitative online FFQs used in the MetaCardis study-one FFQ per country-and to assess the relative validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ. The layout and format of the MetaCardis FFQ was based on the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk FFQ and the content was based on relevant European FFQs. Portion size and nutrient composition were derived from national food consumption surveys and food composition databases. To assess the validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ, a cross-sectional study design was utilized. The validation study included 324 adults recruited between September 2013 and June 2015 from different hospitals in Paris, France. Food intakes were measured with both the French MetaCardis FFQ and 3 consecutive self-administered web-based 24-hour dietary recalls (DRs). Several measures of validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ were evaluated: estimations of food groups, energy, and nutrient intakes from the DRs and the FFQ, Spearman and Pearson correlations, cross-classification, and Bland-Altman analyses. The French MetaCardis FFQ tended to report higher food, energy, and nutrient intakes compared with the DRs. Mean correlation coefficient was 0.429 for food, 0.460 for energy, 0.544 for macronutrients, 0.640 for alcohol, and 0.503 for micronutrient intakes. Almost half of participants (44.4%) were correctly classified within tertiles of consumption, whereas 12.9% were misclassified in the opposite tertile. Performance of the FFQ was relatively similar after stratification by sex. The French MetaCardis FFQ was found to have an acceptable level of validity and may be a useful instrument to rank individuals based on their food and nutrient intakes. Copyright © 2017 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of nursing management diagnoses.

PubMed

Morrison, R S

1995-01-01

Nursing management diagnosis based on nursing and management science, merges "nursing diagnosis" and "organizational diagnosis". Nursing management diagnosis is a judgment about nursing organizational problems. The diagnoses provide a basis for nurse manager interventions to achieve outcomes for which a nurse manager is accountable. A nursing organizational problem is a discrepancy between what should be happening and what is actually happening that prevents the goals of nursing from being accomplished. The purpose of this study was to validate 73 nursing management diagnoses identified previously in 1992: 71 of the 72 diagnoses were considered valid by at least 70% of 136 participants. Diagnoses considered to have high priority for future research and development were identified by summing the mean scores for perceived frequency of occurrence and level of disruption. Further development of nursing management diagnoses and testing of their effectiveness in enhancing decision making is recommended.

Statistical Anomalies of Bitflips in SRAMs to Discriminate SBUs From MCUs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clemente, Juan Antonio; Franco, Francisco J.; Villa, Francesca; Baylac, Maud; Rey, Solenne; Mecha, Hortensia; Agapito, Juan A.; Puchner, Helmut; Hubert, Guillaume; Velazco, Raoul

2016-08-01

Recently, the occurrence of multiple events in static tests has been investigated by checking the statistical distribution of the difference between the addresses of the words containing bitflips. That method has been successfully applied to Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and the original authors indicate that it is also valid for SRAMs. This paper presents a modified methodology that is based on checking the XORed addresses with bitflips, rather than on the difference. Irradiation tests on CMOS 130 & 90 nm SRAMs with 14-MeV neutrons have been performed to validate this methodology. Results in high-altitude environments are also presented and cross-checked with theoretical predictions. In addition, this methodology has also been used to detect modifications in the organization of said memories. Theoretical predictions have been validated with actual data provided by the manufacturer.

From motivation to acceptability: a survey of public attitudes towards organ donation in Denmark.

PubMed

Nordfalk, Francisca; Olejaz, Maria; Jensen, Anja M B; Skovgaard, Lea Larsen; Hoeyer, Klaus

2016-01-01

Over the past three decades, public attitudes to organ donation have been a subject of numerous studies focusing on donor motivation. Here, we present a fresh approach. We suggest focusing on public acceptability instead of motivation. The point is to understand public attitudes well enough to avoid risking public support for organ transplantation. We conducted the study in Denmark because there have been significant developments in public attitudes to organ donation in this country. In the 1990s, Denmark was a country with very low public support for organ donation and Denmark was the last country in Europe to introduce brain death as a legal criterion of death, whereas today Eurobarometer surveys rate Denmark as one of the European countries with the highest support for deceased organ donation from brain dead donors. We conducted a telephone survey in Denmark (N = 1195). A questionnaire was developed on the basis of preceding qualitative studies and pilot testing and included reuse of one item from earlier surveys to facilitate historical comparison. The analysis of the data was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 and focused on descriptive statistics. A clear majority of 91.9 % are positive or very positive towards organ donation; 85.8 % like the idea of their body being used after their death, 85.0 % is willing to donate their own organs, 82.1 % to donate their tissue and only 2.3 % find that too much has been done to promote organ donation. There is limited support for monetary incentives for organ donation (5.8 %) and presumed consent (30.4 %), while a majority (63.9 %) supports making it mandatory to register a personal decision. Religious self-identification has limited impact on attitudes. We can identify a shift over the past three decades from marked opposition to organ transplantation to strong support as well as a pattern in the contemporary public attitudes, which can help explain what is central to public acceptability: self-determination. Policies fostering choice are met with a majority of positive attitudes, while presumed consent and monetary incentives are met with more negative attitudes. Our approach calls for comparative studies in other countries to generate a better overall understanding of the conditions of acceptability, which need to be in place to ensure the long-term social robustness of organ donation and thereby safeguard this important medical technology.

Multi-analyte validation in heterogeneous solution by ELISA.

PubMed

Lakshmipriya, Thangavel; Gopinath, Subash C B; Hashim, Uda; Murugaiyah, Vikneswaran

2017-12-01

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is a standard assay that has been used widely to validate the presence of analyte in the solution. With the advancement of ELISA, different strategies have shown and became a suitable immunoassay for a wide range of analytes. Herein, we attempted to provide additional evidence with ELISA, to show its suitability for multi-analyte detection. To demonstrate, three clinically relevant targets have been chosen, which include 16kDa protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, human blood clotting Factor IXa and a tumour marker Squamous Cell Carcinoma antigen. Indeed, we adapted the routine steps from the conventional ELISA to validate the occurrence of analytes both in homogeneous and heterogeneous solutions. With the homogeneous and heterogeneous solutions, we could attain the sensitivity of 2, 8 and 1nM for the targets 16kDa protein, FIXa and SSC antigen, respectively. Further, the specific multi-analyte validations were evidenced with the similar sensitivities in the presence of human serum. ELISA assay in this study has proven its applicability for the genuine multiple target validation in the heterogeneous solution, can be followed for other target validations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Validation of ISS Floating Potential Measurement Unit Electron Densities and Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffey, Victoria N.; Minow, Joseph I.; Parker, Linda N.; Bui, Them; Wright, Kenneth, Jr.; Koontz, Steven L.; Schneider, T.; Vaughn, J.; Craven, P.

2007-01-01

Validation of the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) electron density and temperature measurements is an important step in the process of evaluating International Space Station spacecraft charging issues .including vehicle arcing and hazards to crew during extravehicular activities. The highest potentials observed on Space Station are due to the combined VxB effects on a large spacecraft and the collection of ionospheric electron and ion currents by the 160 V US solar array modules. Ionospheric electron environments are needed for input to the ISS spacecraft charging models used to predict the severity and frequency of occurrence of ISS charging hazards. Validation of these charging models requires comparing their predictions with measured FPMU values. Of course, the FPMU measurements themselves must also be validated independently for use in manned flight safety work. This presentation compares electron density and temperatures derived from the FPMU Langmuir probes and Plasma Impedance Probe against the independent density and temperature measurements from ultraviolet imagers, ground based incoherent scatter radar, and ionosonde sites.

A psychometric validation study of the Impulsive-Compulsive Behaviours Checklist: A transdiagnostic tool for addictive and compulsive behaviours.

PubMed

Guo, Karen; Youssef, George J; Dawson, Andrew; Parkes, Linden; Oostermeijer, Sanne; López-Solà, Clara; Lorenzetti, Valentina; Greenwood, Christopher; Fontenelle, Leonardo F; Yücel, Murat

2017-04-01

The occurrence of repetitive behaviours that are often harmful has been attributed to traits traditionally described as "impulsive" or "compulsive" e.g. substance dependence, excessive gambling, and hoarding. These behaviours are common and often co-occur in both the general population and psychiatric populations. The lack of measures to concurrently index a range of such behaviours led to the development of the Impulsive-Compulsive Behaviours (ICB) Checklist. This study aims to validate the ICB Checklist in a general community sample. Factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure, demonstrating good model fit in two independent samples. These were labelled Impulsive-Compulsions and Compulsive-Impulsions, comprising of classically compulsive and impulsive behaviours respectively. Reliability and construct validity were further confirmed using correlations with existing measures of impulsivity and compulsivity. Results suggest that the ICB Checklist is a valid and practical assessment that can be used to monitor behavioural clusters characterised by deficits in inhibition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Support for HIV-1 Intervention Therapy

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-10-01

I. Kiselev, and E. S. Severin. 1990. Amplification of DNA 46 sequences of Epstein - Barr and human immunodeficiency viruses using DNA-polymerase from... develop and validate assays that predict or demonstrate disease progression for use in interventional trials with an emphasis on molecular biologic...to stay on the leading edge of technology development . A potential problem in obtaining quality sequence information is the occurrence of template

Oligoclonal and monoclonal bands after single autologous stem cell transplant in patients with multiple myeloma: impact on overall survival and progression-free survival.

PubMed

Jimenez-Zepeda, Victor H; Reece, Donna E; Trudel, Suzanne; Franke, Norman; Winter, Andrew; Chen, Christine; Tiedemann, Rodger; Kukreti, Vishal

2014-10-01

Abstract Recently, the occurrence of oligoclonal and monoclonal bands (OB/MB) unrelated to the original clone has been reported in patients with multiple myeloma who undergo autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and/or receive treatment with novel agents. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of OB/MB occurrence on overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with MM undergoing single ASCT at our institution. All consecutive patients with documented MM undergoing single ASCT from January 2000 to December 2012 were evaluated. Ninety-nine patients (11.8%) developed OB/MB at day 100 post-ASCT (32.3%, OB and 67.7%, MB). Multivariate analysis identified the development of OBs/MBs as an independent favorable prognostic factor for OS and PFS (p = 0.008 and 0.012, respectively). In conclusion, the occurrence of OB/MB is an important prognostic factor in patients with MM who undergo ASCT. Its impact on clinical outcomes should be prospectively validated and its biological significance further elucidated.

Hypergraph-based anomaly detection of high-dimensional co-occurrences.

PubMed

Silva, Jorge; Willett, Rebecca

2009-03-01

This paper addresses the problem of detecting anomalous multivariate co-occurrences using a limited number of unlabeled training observations. A novel method based on using a hypergraph representation of the data is proposed to deal with this very high-dimensional problem. Hypergraphs constitute an important extension of graphs which allow edges to connect more than two vertices simultaneously. A variational Expectation-Maximization algorithm for detecting anomalies directly on the hypergraph domain without any feature selection or dimensionality reduction is presented. The resulting estimate can be used to calculate a measure of anomalousness based on the False Discovery Rate. The algorithm has O(np) computational complexity, where n is the number of training observations and p is the number of potential participants in each co-occurrence event. This efficiency makes the method ideally suited for very high-dimensional settings, and requires no tuning, bandwidth or regularization parameters. The proposed approach is validated on both high-dimensional synthetic data and the Enron email database, where p > 75,000, and it is shown that it can outperform other state-of-the-art methods.

[Track and trigger systems in Denmark - small country, great variations].

PubMed

Lønnee, Mads; Bukan, Ramin Brandt; Waldau, Tina; Møller, Ann Merete; Bukan, Katrine Brandt

2018-05-07

A track and trigger (TAT) system and mobile emergency team (MET) can aid observation and care for admitted patients in the hospital ward. We have examined the literature and find evidence, though not strong, that the introduction of TAT and MET systems reduce hospital mortality. However, in Denmark, many different TAT systems are used, and several hospitals do not have MET. We believe, that a standardised national TAT system could encourage interregional research and the investigation of system compliance, cost-benefit and impact on intensive care unit admissions.

[Import and local transmission of Haemophilus ducreyi].

PubMed

Knudsen, Troels Bygum; Sand, Carsten; Jensen, Jørgen Skov

2010-07-26

Chancroid is a sexually transmitted disease characterized by painful ulcers with a soft margin, necrotic base and purulent exudate. Previously, only sporadic, imported cases have been reported in Denmark. The bacterium is difficult to culture and novel polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for direct demonstration of bacterial DNA have facilitated rapid verification of the clinical diagnosis. We report two cases which demonstrate import and subsequent local transmission in Denmark. In both cases, the clinical diagnosis was rapidly verified by a combined PCR testing for multiple causes of venereal ulcers.

[Advantages and disadvantages of direct-to-consumer genetic tests].

PubMed

Christiansen, Camilla Worm; Gerdes, Anne-Marie Axø

2017-03-13

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests are sold over the internet to consumers all over the world - including Denmark. No regulation of these tests has been introduced neither in Denmark nor in Europe, even though they have been on the market since 2007. Such tests have several advantages, but indeed also a long list of potential disadvantages, which are most often ignored, and among these is insufficient training of general practitioners in performing the necessary counselling but also the risk of increased expenses to unnecessary follow-up consultations.

Prevalence and predictors of Axis I disorders in a large sample of treatment-seeking victims of sexual abuse and incest.

PubMed

McElroy, Eoin; Shevlin, Mark; Elklit, Ask; Hyland, Philip; Murphy, Siobhan; Murphy, Jamie

2016-01-01

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a common occurrence and a robust, yet non-specific, predictor of adult psychopathology. While many demographic and abuse factors have been shown to impact this relationship, their common and specific effects remain poorly understood. This study sought to assess the prevalence of Axis I disorders in a large sample of help-seeking victims of sexual trauma, and to examine the common and specific effects of demographic and abuse characteristics across these different diagnoses. The participants were attendees at four treatment centres in Denmark that provide psychological therapy for victims of CSA (N=434). Axis I disorders were assessed using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between CSA characteristics (age of onset, duration, number of abusers, number of abusive acts) and 10 adult clinical syndromes. There was significant variation in the prevalence of disorders and the abuse characteristics were differentially associated with the outcome variables. Having experienced sexual abuse from more than one perpetrator was the strongest predictor of psychopathology. The relationship between CSA and adult psychopathology is complex. Abuse characteristics have both unique and shared effects across different diagnoses.

Characterization of Stachybotrys from water-damaged buildings based on morphology, growth, and metabolite production.

PubMed

Andersen, Birgitte; Nielsen, Kristian F; Jarvis, Bruce B

2002-01-01

Stachybotrys was found to be associated with idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in infants in Cleveland, Ohio. Since that time, considerable effort has been put into finding the toxic components responsible for the disease. The name Stachybotrys chartarum has been applied to most of these isolates, but inconsistent toxicity results and taxonomic confusion prompted the present study. In this study, 122 Stachybotrys isolates, mainly from water-damaged buildings, were characterized and identified by combining three different approaches: morphology, colony characteristics, and metabolite production. Two different Stachybotrys taxa, S. chartarum and one undescribed species, were found in water-damaged buildings regardless of whether the buildings were in Denmark, Finland, or the USA. Furthermore, two chemotypes could be distinguished in S. chartarum. One chemotype produced atranones, whereas the other was a macrocyclic trichothecene-producer. The second undescribed taxon produced atranones and could be differentiated from S. chartarum by its growth characteristics and pigment production. Our results correlate with different inflammatory and toxicological properties reported for these same isolates and show that the three taxa/chemotypes should be treated separately. The co-occurrence of these three taxa/chemotypes in water-damaged buildings explains the inconsistent results in the literature concerning toxicity of Stachybotrys isolated from that environment.

Gender and age inequalities in regular sports participation: a cross-national study of 25 European countries.

PubMed

Van Tuyckom, Charlotte; Scheerder, Jeroen; Bracke, Piet

2010-08-01

This article provides a unique opportunity to compare gender inequalities in sports participation across Europe, and the extent to which this varies by age using large, cross-sections of the population. The Eurobarometer Survey 62.0 (carried out in 2004 at the request of the European Commission and covering the adult population of 25 European member states, N = 23,909) was used to analyse differences in regular sports participation by gender and by age in the different countries. For the majority of countries, the occurrence of regular sporting activity was less than 40%. Additionally, binary logistic regression analyses identified significant gender differences in sports participation in 12 countries. In Belgium, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK, men were more likely to report being regularly active in sports than women, whereas in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands the opposite was true. Moreover, the extent to which these gender inequalities differ by age varies considerably across countries. The results imply that: (i) in some European countries more efforts must be undertaken to promote the original goals of the Sport for All Charter, and (ii) to achieve more female participation in sports will require different policy responses in the diverse European member states.

Quercus suber range dynamics by ecological niche modelling: from the Last Interglacial to present time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vessella, Federico; Simeone, Marco Cosimo; Schirone, Bartolomeo

2015-07-01

Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) is widely used to depict species potential occurrence according to environmental variables under different climatic scenarios. We tested the ENM approach to infer past range dynamics of cork oak, a keystone species of the Mediterranean Biome, from 130 ka to the present time. Hindcasting implications would deal with a better species risk assessment and conservation management for the future. We modelled present and past occurrence of cork oak using seven ENM algorithms, starting from 63,733 spatially unique presence points at 30 arc-second resolution. Fourteen environmental variables were used and four time slices were considered (Last Interglacial, Last Glacial Maximum, mid-Holocene and present time). A threshold-independent evaluation of the goodness-of-fit of the models was evaluated by means of ROC curve and fossil or historical evidences were used to validate the results. Four weighted average maps depicted the dynamics of area suitability for cork oak in the last 130 ka. The derived species autoecology allowed its long-term occurrence in the Mediterranean without striking range reduction or shifting. Fossil and historical post-processing validation support the modelled past spatial extension and a neglected species presence at Levantine until the recent time. Despite the severe climatic oscillation since the Last Glacial Maximum, cork oak potential distribution area experienced limited range changes, confirming its strong link with the Mediterranean Basin. The ecological amplitude of Quercus suber could be therefore adopted as a reference to trace the Mediterranean bioclimate area. A better knowledge of the past events of Mediterranean vegetation, a wider range of study species and environmental determinants are essential to inform us about its current state, its sensitivity to human impact and the potential responses to future changes.

Analysis of ASTER data for mapping bauxite rich pockets within high altitude lateritic bauxite, Jharkhand, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Arindam; Singh, Vivek Kr.; Parveen, Reshma; Kumar, K. Vinod; Jeyaseelan, A. T.; Dhanamjaya Rao, E. N.

2013-04-01

Bauxite deposits of Jharkhand in India are resulted from the lateritization process and therefore are often associated with the laterites. In the present study, ASTER (Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) image is processed to delineate bauxite rich pockets within the laterites. In this regard, spectral signatures of lateritic bauxite samples are analyzed in the laboratory with reference to the spectral features of gibbsite (main mineral constituent of bauxite) and goethite (main mineral constituent of laterite) in VNIR-SWIR (visible-near infrared and short wave infrared) electromagnetic domain. The analysis of spectral signatures of lateritic bauxite samples helps in understanding the differences in the spectral features of bauxites and laterites. Based on these differences; ASTER data based relative band depth and simple ratio images are derived for spatial mapping of the bauxites developed within the lateritic province. In order to integrate the complementary information of different index image, an index based principal component (IPC) image is derived to incorporate the correlative information of these indices to delineate bauxite rich pockets. The occurrences of bauxite rich pockets derived from density sliced IPC image are further delimited by the topographic controls as it has been observed that the major bauxite occurrences of the area are controlled by slope and altitude. In addition to above, IPC image is draped over the digital elevation model (DEM) to illustrate how bauxite rich pockets are distributed with reference to the topographic variability of the terrain. Bauxite rich pockets delineated in the IPC image are also validated based on the known mine occurrences and existing geological map of the bauxite. It is also conceptually validated based on the spectral similarity of the bauxite pixels delineated in the IPC image with the ASTER convolved laboratory spectra of bauxite samples.

Influence of stellar multiplicity on planet formation. I. Evidence of suppressed planet formation due to stellar companions within 20 au and validation of four planets from the Kepler multiple planet candidates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Ji; Fischer, Debra A.; Xie, Ji-Wei

2014-03-01

The planet occurrence rate for multiple stars is important in two aspects. First, almost half of stellar systems in the solar neighborhood are multiple systems. Second, the comparison of the planet occurrence rate for multiple stars to that for single stars sheds light on the influence of stellar multiplicity on planet formation and evolution. We developed a method of distinguishing planet occurrence rates for single and multiple stars. From a sample of 138 bright (K{sub P} < 13.5) Kepler multi-planet candidate systems, we compared the stellar multiplicity rate of these planet host stars to that of field stars. Using dynamicalmore » stability analyses and archival Doppler measurements, we find that the stellar multiplicity rate of planet host stars is significantly lower than field stars for semimajor axes less than 20 AU, suggesting that planet formation and evolution are suppressed by the presence of a close-in companion star at these separations. The influence of stellar multiplicity at larger separations is uncertain because of search incompleteness due to a limited Doppler observation time baseline and a lack of high-resolution imaging observation. We calculated the planet confidence for the sample of multi-planet candidates and find that the planet confidences for KOI 82.01, KOI 115.01, KOI 282.01, and KOI 1781.02 are higher than 99.7% and thus validate the planetary nature of these four planet candidates. This sample of bright Kepler multi-planet candidates with refined stellar and orbital parameters, planet confidence estimation, and nearby stellar companion identification offers a well-characterized sample for future theoretical and observational study.« less

Extending the concept of social validity: behavior analysis for disease prevention and health promotion.

PubMed

Winett, R A; Moore, J F; Anderson, E S

1991-01-01

A broader definition of social validity is proposed wherein a socially valid behavior-change intervention is directed to a problem of verifiable importance, the intervention is valued and used appropriately by designated target groups, and the intervention as used has sufficient behavioral impact to substantially reduce the probability of the problem's occurrence in target populations. The verifiable importance of a problem is based on epidemiological data, and the value and appropriate use of an intervention are enhanced through the use of conceptual frameworks for social marketing and behavior change and considerable formative and pilot research. Behavioral impact is assessed through efficacy and effectiveness studies. Thus, the social validity of a behavior-change intervention is established through a number of interactive, a priori steps. This approach to defining social validity is related to critical analysis and intervention issues including individual and population perspectives and "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches to intervention design. This broader definition of social validity is illustrated by a project to reduce the risk of HIV infection among adolescents. Although the various steps involved in creating socially valid interventions can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, following all the steps can result in interventions capable of improving a nation's health.

Microbiology, Redox and Contaminat Fate in the Grindsted Landfill Leachate Plume - A Summary of 25 Years of work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, T. H.

2001-05-01

The contamination by leachate of the upper aquifer at the Grindsted Landfill (Denmark) stretches about 300 m downgradient from the landfill. The plume has been described with respect to water chemistry, sediment chemistry, pollutant distribution, microbial counts, PLFA and redox rates determined by unamended bioassays. This presentation summaries the findings and discusses unanswered questions. The landfill was active from 1930 to the mid 1970 and has no engineered leachate collection system. Leachate from municipal as well as from industrial waste has entered the aquifer for more than thirty years. The redox conditions change from strongly anaerobic (methanogenic, sulfate reducing, iron reducing) close to the landfill over manganese reduction and denitrification to aerobic conditions in the outskirts of the plume The redox conditions were determined from groundwater sample composition, hydrogen concentrations and sediment chemistry. The plume showed strong attenuation of aromatic compounds within the first 100 m downgradient of the landfill. Degradation experiments (batch, in-situ testers, long term field injection experiments) could not fully document degradation of all the compounds. MPN-measurements of methanogens, sulfate-reducers, iron-reducers, manganese-reducers and denitrifiers showed abundance of all groups with a slight trend with the redox conditions. PLFA measurements did not provide much insight into the microbial populations of the plume, but confirmed some previous observations. Bioassays gave estimates of the rates of the various redox processes, but showed for some samples more simultaneous redox processes. More than 25 years of work has been put into the Grindsted Landfill leachate plume. References Bjerg, P.L., Rugge, K., Cortsen, J., Nielsen, P.H. & Christensen, T.H. (1999): Degradation of aromatic and chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons in the anaerobic part of the Grindsted Landfill leachate plume: In situ microcosm and laboratory batch experiments. Ground Water, 37, 113-121. Bjerg, P.L., Rugge, K., Pedersen, J.K. & Christensen, T.H. (1995): Distribution of redox sensitive groundwater quality parameters downgradient of a landfill (Grindsted, Denmark). Environmental Science and Technology, 29, 1387-1394. Heron, G., Bjerg, P.L., Gravesen, P., Ludvigsen, L. & Christensen, T.H. (1998): Geology and sediment geochemistry of a landfill leachate contaminated aquifer (Grindsted, Denmark). Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 29, 301-317. Jakobsen, R., Albrechtsen, H.-J., Rasmussen, M., Bay, H., Bjerg, P.L. & Christensen, T.H. (1998): H2 concentrations in a landfill leachate plume (Grindsted, Denmark): In situ energetics of terminal electron acceptor processes. Environmental Science and Technology, 32, 2142-2148. Ludvigsen, L., Albrechtsen, H.-J., Heron, G., Bjerg, P.L. & Christensen, T.H. (1998): Anaerobic microbial redox processes in a landfill leachate contaminated aquifer (Grindsted, Denmark). Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 33, 273-291. Ludvigsen, L., Albrechtsen, H.-J., Ringelberg, D., Ekelund, F. & Christensen, T.H. (1999): Distribution and composition of microbial populations in a landfill leachate contaminated aquifer (Grindsted, Denmark). Microbial Ecology, 37, (3), 197-207. Rugge, K., Bjerg, P.L. & Christensen, T.H. (1995): Distribution of organic compounds from municipal solid waste in the groundwater downgradient of a landfill (Grindsted, Denmark). Environmental Science and Technology, 29, 1395-1400.

The challenges of a possible exploitation of shale gas in Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Ole S.; Kidmose, Jacob; Johnsen, Anders R.; Gravesen, Peter; Schovsbo, Niels H.

2017-04-01

Extraction of shale gas has in recent years attracted increasing interest internationally and in Denmark. The potential areas for shale gas extraction from Alum shale in Denmark are defined as areas where Alum shale is at least 20 m thick, gas mature and buried at 1.5 to 7 km depth. Sweet Spots are areas where Alum shale potentially has a high utility value. Sweet Spots are identified and cover an area of approximately 6,800 km2 and are divided into two subareas; where the shale is at 1.5-5 km depth (2,400 km2) or at 5-7 km depth (4,400 km2). The shale in the upper depth interval has the greatest interest, as these areas are localized most accurate as the production from the deep interval is less costly. Many potential risks has been identified by exploitation of unconventional gas, of which groundwater contamination, waste management and radioactive substances are classified as the most important. The international literature reports a water demand with an average of about 18,000 m3 for older wells whereas newer fracking methods have less water usage. Based heron the estimated water consumption is between 20 million to 66 million m3 water in Danish shale gas production well and thus significantly in the total water budget. Consumption of water for shale gas will however be distributed over a number of years. The temporal development in water usage will depend on how quickly the gas wells are developed. The available groundwater resource in Denmark is estimated to about 1 billion m3 / year. Groundwater abstraction has been slightly falling the last decades and is now totally 700 million m3 / year. The use of surface water in Denmark is thus negligible. Although groundwater attraction is only 70 % of the available, the resource is overexploited in many areas due to water consumption is very unevenly distributed varying from region to region. The composition of potential hydraulic fracturing liquids in Denmark is at present unknown, but is expected to be selected from the same 14-40 different chemicals currently in use in Poland. In addition, the produced water may contain large amounts of formation brine expected to pose a significant problem for environmental safe discharge. Overall, this means that the fate of contaminants is very difficult to assess, but the infiltration of these substances into groundwater would likely result in a change of chemical conditions and an unacceptable deterioration of groundwater quality. Further, the average age of portable water in Denmark is high as the renewal time for groundwater is long. Hence, the spread and thus the dilution of contaminants will be very limited; these substances can be maintained in high concentrations in many areas. Consequently, a set of monitoring and remedial measures should be implemented to minimize possible environmental impacts, including baseline studies for the relevant inorganic and hazardous organic substances in surface water and groundwater known from previous studies to potentially have been affected by shale gas activities.

Demand for health care in Denmark: results of a national sample survey using contingent valuation.

PubMed

Gyldmark, M; Morrison, G C

2001-10-01

In this paper we use willingness to pay (WTP) to elicit values for private insurance covering treatment for four different health problems. By way of obtaining these values, we test the viability of the contingent valuation method (CVM) and econometric techniques, respectively, as means of eliciting and analysing values from the general public. WTP responses from a Danish national sample survey, which was designed in accordance with existing guidelines, are analysed in terms of consistency and validity checks. Large numbers of zero responses are common in WTP studies, and are found here; therefore, the Heckman selectivity model and log-transformed OLS are employed. The selectivity model is rejected, but test results indicate that the lognormal model yields efficient and unbiased estimates. The results give confidence in the WTP estimates obtained and, more generally, in CVM as a means of valuing publicly provided goods and in econometrics as a tool for analysing WTP results containing many zero responses.

The negotiation of the sick role: general practitioners’ classification of patients with medically unexplained symptoms

PubMed Central

Mik-Meyer, Nanna; Obling, Anne Roelsgaard

2012-01-01

In encounters between general practitioners (GPs) and patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), the negotiation of the sick role is a social process. In this process, GPs not only use traditional biomedical diagnostic tools but also rely on their own opinions and evaluations of a patient’s particular circumstances in deciding whether that patient is legitimately sick. The doctor is thus a gatekeeper of legitimacy. This article presents results from a qualitative interview study conducted in Denmark with GPs concerning their approach to patients with MUS. We employ a symbolic interaction approach that pays special attention to the external validation of the sick role, making GPs’ accounts of such patients particularly relevant. One of the article’s main findings is that GPs’ criteria for judging the legitimacy of claims by those patients that present with MUS are influenced by the extent to which GPs are able to constitute these patients as people with social problems and problematic personality traits. PMID:22384857

The nudibranch names mentioned as n.sp. in Bergh (1861) are almost all nomina nuda (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Nudibranchia).

PubMed

Jensen, Kathe; Nielsen, Claus

2014-01-06

In a publication in Danish from 1861, Bergh described the nematocysts found in a number of nudibranch species. Many of the species had been described previously, but a number were new and given names, but without a description. These species are nomina nuda. We have translated the "descriptions", including the foot-notes, and reproduced the original plate to show that only the nematocysts (real or assumed) were described. The only species given a short description fulfilling the requirements of the ICZN is Pleurophyllidia quadrilateralis, which was described as the only species in the new genus Sancara. This in turn was shown to be a junior synonym of Linguella de Blainville, 1823. All the species were subsequently described anatomically in detail and made valid in a number of papers, and most of the type material is located in the Zoological Museum, Copenhagen (Natural History Museum of Denmark). The names in current use have been given.

Accounting for structural and exchange mobility in models of status attainment: Social fluidity in five European countries.

PubMed

Menés, Jorge Rodríguez

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new method to distinguish structural from exchange mobility in status attainment models with interval endogenous variables. In order to measure structural mobility, the paper proposes to trace occupational and educational changes across generations using information provided by children about their fathers. The validity of the method is assessed by comparing the effects of father's socio-economic status and education on son's status and educational attainments, net of occupational upgrading and educational expansion, in five European countries: Britain, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Spain, using data from the 2005 EU-SILC survey. The results show that the effect of father's on son's ISEI weakens greatly in all countries after considering occupational upgrading, and that much of father's influence over sons occurs by directing them towards occupations with good economic prospects. Useful extensions to the method are discussed in the conclusions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new version of the HBSC Family Affluence Scale - FAS III: Scottish Qualitative Findings from the International FAS Development Study.

PubMed

Hartley, Jane E K; Levin, Kate; Currie, Candace

A critical review of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) concluded that FAS II was no longer discriminatory within very rich or very poor countries, where a very high or a very low proportion of children were categorised as high FAS or low FAS respectively (Currie et al. 2008). The review concluded that a new version of FAS - FAS III - should be developed to take into account current trends in family consumption patterns across the European region, the US and Canada. In 2012, the FAS Development and Validation Study was conducted in eight countries - Denmark, Greenland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Scotland. This paper describes the Scottish qualitative findings from this study. The Scottish qualitative fieldwork comprising cognitive interviews and focus groups sampled from 11, 13 and 15 year-old participants from 18 of the most- and least- economically deprived schools. These qualitative results were used to inform the final FAS III recommendations.

Multiple primary cancers in Connecticut, 1935-82.

PubMed Central

Boice, J. D.; Curtis, R. E.; Kleinerman, R. A.; Flannery, J. T.; Fraumeni, J. F.

1986-01-01

Recently, the National Cancer Institute published a comprehensive monograph on multiple primary cancers in Connecticut and Denmark. This paper summarizes some of the observations made on the Connecticut population. Data compiled by the Connecticut Tumor Registry have extended our knowledge about the patterns of multiple primary cancers, especially among long-term survivors of cancer and among patients with relatively rare tumors about which little information currently exists. When compared with the general Connecticut population, cancer patients had a 31 percent (RR = 1.31) increased risk of developing a second cancer and a 23 percent (RR = 1.23) elevated risk of second cancer at a different site from the first. Common environmental exposures seemed responsible for the excess occurrence of many second cancers, particularly those related to cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, or both. For example, persons with epithelial cancers of the lung, larynx, esophagus, buccal cavity, and pharynx were particularly prone to develop new cancers in the same or contiguous tissue throughout their lifetimes. Cancers of the colon, uterine corpus, breast, and ovary frequently occurred together, suggesting underlying hormonal or dietary influences. Only patients with prostate cancer were at significantly low risk for second cancer development; this might be an artifact of case finding, since advanced age at initial diagnosis was generally associated with an underascertainment of second cancers. Radiotherapy may have caused rectal and other cancer among patients with cancers of the female genital tract, and leukemia among patients with uterine corpus cancer. Chemotherapy with alkylating agents probably contributed to the excess of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia following multiple myeloma or cancers of the breast and ovary. Genetic susceptibility seemed to explain some tumor complexes, such as the multiple occurrences of cutaneous melanoma and the excess of bone cancer following retinoblastoma. Research into multiple cancer syndromes should enhance our understanding of carcinogenic factors and mechanisms and the development of strategies for cancer prevention and control. PMID:3541409

Spatial analysis and temporal trends of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome in Denmark from 2007 to 2010 based on laboratory submission data.

PubMed

Antunes, Ana Carolina Lopes; Halasa, Tariq; Lauritsen, Klara Tølbøl; Kristensen, Charlotte Sonne; Larsen, Lars Erik; Toft, Nils

2015-12-21

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has been a cause for great concern to the Danish pig industry since it was first diagnosed in 1992. The causative agent of PRRS is an RNA virus which is divided into different genotypes. The clinical signs, as well as its morbidity and mortality, is highly variable between herds and regions. Two different genotypes of PRRS virus (PRRSV) are found in Denmark: type 1 and type 2. Approximately 40% of Danish swine herds are seropositive for one or both PRRSV types. The objective of this study was to describe the temporal trend and spatial distribution of PRRSV in Danish swine herds from 2007 to 2010, based on type-specific serological tests from the PRRS surveillance and control program in Denmark using the results stored in the information management system at the National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Vet). The average monthly seroprevalence of PRRSV type 1 was 9% (minimum of 5%; maximum of 13%) in breeding herds, and 20% (minimum of 14%; maximum of 26%) in production herds; PRRSV type 2 had an average seroprevalence of 3% (minimum of 1%; maximum of 9%) in breeding herds and of 9% (minimum of 5%; maximum of 13%) within production herds. The seroconversion rate followed a similar and consistent pattern, being higher for type 1 than for type 2 for both PRRSV types. Regarding the spatiotemporal results, the relative risk distribution maps changed over time as a consequence of the changes in PRRSV seroprevalence, suggesting a general decline in the extent of areas with higher relative risk for both type 1 and 2. Local spatial analysis results demonstrated the existence of statistically significant clusters in areas where the relative risk was higher for both herds. PRRSV type 1 seroprevalence was constantly higher than for PRRSV type 2 in both herd types. Significant spatial clusters were consistently found in Denmark, suggesting that PRRSV is endemic in these areas. Furthermore, relative risk distribution maps revealed different patterns over time as a consequence of the changes in seroprevalence.

Suicide by carbon monoxide from car exhaust-gas in Denmark 1995-1999.

PubMed

Thomsen, Asser H; Gregersen, Markil

2006-08-10

In the period 1995-1999 there were 388 car exhaust-gas suicides in Denmark. Of these 343 (88.4%) were men and 45 (11.6%) were women, the average age being 47 years. The car exhaust-gas suicides made up 9.3% of all suicides in Denmark in the period. The corresponding rate was 11.7% for men and 3.7% for women. In rural areas a larger part of all suicides were committed with car exhaust-gas compared to the more densely populated areas. Mental disease was diagnosed in 124 (32.0%) cases. A suicide note was found in 165 (42.5%) cases. A hose was fitted to the exhaust pipe in 334 (86.1%) cases. Of these the 234 (60.3%) occurred outside, typically in a forest area, while 76 (19.6%) occurred in a closed garage. All the 54 (13.9%) cases with no hose fitted to the exhaust pipe occurred in a garage. Seven (1.8%) victims were found in a burning or burnt-out car, where the following investigation revealed that it was actually a car exhaust-gas suicide. Carboxyhemoglobin was measured in 26 (6.7%) victims. In two of these victims no carboxyhemoglobin was found, as they had survived for some time after the poisoning. The average saturation of the remaining victims was 67%, the lowest saturation being 20% and the highest being 84%. In the period 1969-1987 the number of car exhaust-gas suicides in Denmark increased from 50 to approximately 190 per year and the rate of car exhaust-gas suicides compared to all suicides increased from approximately 5% to approximately 13%. In 1987-1999 these figures decreased from approximately 190 to 63 per year and from 13% to approximately 8%. During these 30 years the number of passenger cars in Denmark doubled, which explains the increase in car exhaust-gas suicides during 1969-1987. A possible explanation for the decrease in 1987-1999 is the introduction of the catalytic converter, which was made mandatory in 1990. We anticipate that car exhaust-gas suicides will continue to decrease in numbers, as more cars are equipped with catalytic converters.

High-resolution modelling of health impacts and related external cost from air pollution over 36 years using the integrated model system EVA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandt, Jørgen; Andersen, Mikael S.; Bønløkke, Jakob; Christensen, Jesper H.; Geels, Camilla; Hansen, Kaj M.; Hertel, Ole; Im, Ulas; Jensen, Steen S.; Ketzel, Matthias; Nielsen, Ole-Kenneth; Plejdrup, Marlene S.; Sigsgaard, Torben

2016-04-01

A high-resolution assessment of health impacts from air pollution and related external cost has been conducted for Denmark using the integrated EVA model system. The EVA system is based on the impact-pathway methodology, where the site-specific emissions will result, via atmospheric transport and chemistry, in a concentration distribution, which together with detailed population data, is used to estimate the population-level exposure. Using exposure-response functions and economic valuations, the exposure is transformed into impacts on human health and related external costs. In this study we have used a coupling of two chemistry transport models to calculate the air pollution concentration at different domain and scales; the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) to calculate the air pollution levels in the Northern Hemisphere with a resolution down to 5.6 km x 5.6 km and the Urban Background Model (UBM) to further calculate the air pollution in Denmark at 1 km x 1 km resolution using results from DEHM as boundary conditions. Both the emission data as well as the population density has been represented in the model system with the same high resolution. Previous health impact assessments related to air pollution have been made on a lower resolution. In this study, the integrated model system, EVA, has been used to estimate the health impacts and related external cost for Denmark at a 1 km x 1 km resolution. New developments of the integrated model system will be presented as well as the development of health impacts and related external costs in Europe and Denmark over a period of 36 years (1979-2014). Acknowledgements This work was funded by: DCE - National Centre for Environment and Energy. Project: "Health impacts and external costs from air pollution in Denmark over 25 years" and NordForsk under the Nordic Programme on Health and Welfare. Project: "Understanding the link between air pollution and distribution of related health impacts and welfare in the Nordic countries (NordicWelfAir)".

Fatal poisoning in drug addicts in the Nordic countries in 2012.

PubMed

Simonsen, K Wiese; Edvardsen, H M E; Thelander, G; Ojanperä, I; Thordardottir, S; Andersen, L V; Kriikku, P; Vindenes, V; Christoffersen, D; Delaveris, G J M; Frost, J

2015-03-01

This report is a follow-up to a study on fatal poisoning in drug addicts conducted in 2012 by a Nordic working group. Here we analyse data from the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Data on sex, number of deaths, places of death, age, main intoxicants and other drugs detected in the blood were recorded. National data are presented and compared between the Nordic countries and with data from similar studies conducted in 1991, 1997, 2002 and 2007. The death rates (number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) increased in drug addicts in Finland, Iceland and Sweden but decreased in Norway compared to the rates in earlier studies. The death rate was stable in Denmark from 1991 to 2012. The death rate remained highest in Norway (5.79) followed by Denmark (5.19) and Iceland (5.16). The differences between the countries diminished compared to earlier studies, with death rates in Finland (4.61) and Sweden (4.17) approaching the levels in the other countries. Women accounted for 15-27% of the fatal poisonings. The median age of the deceased drug addicts was still highest in Denmark, and deaths of addicts >45 years old increased in all countries. Opioids remained the main cause of death, but medicinal opioids like methadone, buprenorphine, fentanyl and tramadol mainly replaced heroin. Methadone was the main intoxicant in Denmark and Sweden, whereas heroin/morphine caused the most deaths in Norway. Finland differed from the other Nordic countries in that buprenorphine was the main intoxicant with only a few heroin/morphine and methadone deaths. Deaths from methadone, buprenorphine and fentanyl increased immensely in Sweden compared to 2007. Poly-drug use was widespread in all countries. The median number of drugs per case varied from 4 to 5. Heroin/morphine, medicinal opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and alcohol were the main abused drugs. However, less widely used drugs, like gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), methylphenidate, fentanyl and pregabalin, appeared in all countries. New psychotropic substances emerged in all countries, with the largest selection, including MDPV, alpha-PVP and 5-IT, seen in Finland and Sweden. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Providing time-discrete gait information by wearable feedback apparatus for lower-limb amputees: usability and functional validation.

PubMed

Crea, Simona; Cipriani, Christian; Donati, Marco; Carrozza, Maria Chiara; Vitiello, Nicola

2015-03-01

Here we describe a novel wearable feedback apparatus for lower-limb amputees. The system is based on three modules: a pressure-sensitive insole for the measurement of the plantar pressure distribution under the prosthetic foot during gait, a computing unit for data processing and gait segmentation, and a set of vibrating elements placed on the thigh skin. The feedback strategy relies on the detection of specific gait-phase transitions of the amputated leg. Vibrating elements are activated in a time-discrete manner, simultaneously with the occurrence of the detected gait-phase transitions. Usability and effectiveness of the apparatus were successfully assessed through an experimental validation involving ten healthy volunteers.

Validity of mail survey data on bagged waterfowl

USGS Publications Warehouse

Atwood, E.L.

1956-01-01

Knowledge of the pattern of occurrence and characteristics of response errors obtained during an investigation of the validity of post-season surveys of hunters was used to advantage to devise a two-step method for removing the response-bias errors from the raw survey data. The method was tested on data with known errors and found to have a high efficiency in reducing the effect of response-bias errors. The development of this method for removing the effect of the response-bias errors, and its application to post-season hunter-take survey data, increased the reliability of the data from below the point of practical management significance up to the approximate reliability limits corresponding to the sampling errors.

Reliability and validity enhancement: a treatment package for increasing fidelity of self-report.

PubMed

Bornstein, P H; Hamilton, S B; Miller, R K; Quevillon, R P; Spitzform, M

1977-07-01

This study investigated the effects of reliability and validity "enhancers" on fidelity of self-report data in an analogue therapy situation. Under the guise of a Concentration Skills Training Program, 57 Ss were assigned randomly to one of the following conditions: (a) Reliability Enhancement; (b) Truth Talk; (c) No Comment Control. Results indicated significant differences among groups (p less than .05). In addition, tests of multiple comparisons revealed that Reliability Enhancement was significantly different from Truth Talk in occurrences of unreliability (p less than .05). These findings are discussed in light of the increased reliance on self-report data in behavioral intervention, and recommendations are made for future research.

[Wound microbial sampling methods in surgical practice, imprint techniques].

PubMed

Chovanec, Z; Veverková, L; Votava, M; Svoboda, J; Peštál, A; Doležel, J; Jedlička, V; Veselý, M; Wechsler, J; Čapov, I

2012-12-01

The wound is a damage of tissue. The process of healing is influenced by many systemic and local factors. The most crucial and the most discussed local factor of wound healing is infection. Surgical site infection in the wound is caused by micro-organisms. This information is known for many years, however the conditions leading to an infection occurrence have not been sufficiently described yet. Correct sampling technique, correct storage, transportation, evaluation, and valid interpretation of these data are very important in clinical practice. There are many methods for microbiological sampling, but the best one has not been yet identified and validated. We aim to discuss the problem with the focus on the imprint technique.

Effects of life events on infertility diagnosis: comparison with presumably fertile men and women.

PubMed

Santos, Carina; Sobral, Maria Pedro; Martins, Mariana V

2017-02-01

To compare the occurrence and degree of stress attributed to life events during childhood/adolescence and adulthood between individuals diagnosed with infertility and presumably fertile individuals, and to examine the effect of life events occurrence and stress levels on an infertility diagnosis. Although stress has been explored as a consequence of the experience of infertility, its role as a predictor of this disease still lacks research, particularly regarding the use of adequate control groups composed of non-parents. The final sample had 151 infertile subjects (74 males and 77 females) and 225 presumably fertile participants (95 males and 130 females), who completed a questionnaire indicating occurrence (y/n) and degree of stress of life events (1-5) during childhood/adolescence and adulthood. Significant differences regarding occurrence were found in seven stressful life events in men and in nine events in women, with infertile groups presenting higher occurrence than presumably fertile groups. Eleven stressful life events were rated differently by men and women regarding the degree of stress, with group significant differences observed in both directions. While most events were rated as more stressful by infertile men, infertile women reported less stress resulting from these events than presumably fertile women. After controlling for age, the degree of stress induced by life events in childhood/adolescence and adulthood were not significant predictors of infertility diagnosis, for both men and women. The amount of stress associated with earlier or concurrent life events does not seem to be related with infertility. Further prospective research is needed to validate these findings.